Something Just Like This
by Argyle.S
Summary: AU where Cat never left, and no pod showed up at the end of season one. When Kara's relationship with James falls apart, she turns to Cat for comfort, but Cat's having a hard time keeping her own feelings for Kara in check. Follows "Just To See Her Smile".
1. The Call

Author's Note: This was supposed to be a smutty, angsty little Kara/Cat balcony sex thing, that turned into plot. It's not beta read. I'm putting up the first seven chapters tonight because they are already up at Ao3. After tonight, I will _try_ to update once a week, but honestly updates may be somewhere irregular, because I'm more focused on the long fic I've been working on for a year and a half.

Read at your own risk.

* * *

Cat couldn't help but smile as she finished reading the article Kara had submitted. She'd made a few marks and notes here and there, but far fewer than she'd expected, and not once, during the course of the entire article, was she even remotely tempted to draw the red line. The red line was a technique she'd picked up from one of her journalism professors. Read the assignment until you get to a sentence that would make you want to stop reading. Underline that in read to point out to the person how much of their article was wasted effort because of that one sentence. Cat had never once had a new writer she'd hired make it through less than twenty articles before she'd finished their first draft without red lining them.

Not until Kara.

The article Cat had just finished was Kara's fourth. It was one Cat had known she'd be perfect for, though she'd hesitated to assign it, because she knew it would hit close to home. An in depth look at how Syrian Refugees were adapting to life in their new homes. The article is beautiful, truly, full of insights no one else would have, and empathy that can only come from shared experience. Cat had picked Kara to write this, because she believed that the girl who'd lost her planet would tell this story better than anyone else. She'd been right, of course, but the pride swelling inside her wasn't pride in her own genius, but pride in Kara. Pride that the one girl in Cat's little empire who claimed she was nothing but ordinary was the most extraordinary person she'd ever met.

"This is good," Cat said, as she sat the copy of the article down on the coffee table that separated them. She leaned back on the sinfully comfortable sofa that sat between her desk and the door to her office, and lookup up at Kara. She saw the smile there, and cursed herself for her weakness, because she couldn't even pretend. "Kara, this is wonderful."

"Really?" Kara asked, and Cat felt herself smiling, because it was almost impossible to look at the way Kara was practically glowing and not smile.

"Really," Cat said. "There are a few minor changes to make. You have the oddest tick in your diction when you're writing. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you learned to write by reading the collected works of Clark Kent. But honestly, I wouldn't change more than five or six words in the entire piece. In fact, I'm going to have James check to see if we got enough pictures to expand the layout. I'm thinking we can bump the campaign finance piece down to a backup story, and run this as the key feature. I'll borrow Sullivan from the Tribune and have her write up a companion piece on the continued refugee crisis in Europe and-" Cat stopped when 'Secret Agent Man' by Johnny Rivers started blaring out of Kara's phone.

"Sorry," Kara said, "I've got to…"

Cat nodded, because really, what was she going to do, tell Kara, who really wasn't Supergirl, not to answer a call from her sister, who was absolutely not a secret government agent, when she was probably being called to save the world. Instead she reached for the article as Kara got that slightly embarrassed blush she always had when she took a Supergirl call in front of Cat.

"Hey, Alex. I'm with Miss-"

Cat looked up from the pages she'd barely had a chance to glace at. The entire atmosphere of the room suddenly changed. It felt like the temperature of the room dropped twenty degrees, and Kara looked absolutely ashen.

"Where is he?"

"No, Alex- Alex- Alex, stop. No, I need to you stop!"

Cat felt a heavy weight settle into her stomach. She's never seen Kara so close to panicking while in Supergirl mode. Something was wrong. She didn't need her journalistic skills to know that much. She glanced out at the bullpen, and saw everyone had gone silent, and was watching Kara.

Cat stood up and walked over towards the doors, closing one before she turned back to Kara, in silent question, asking if she wanted to be alone. Kara stared at her for a moment, before shaking her head, and nodding slightly towards the couch. Cat closed the other door and returned to her seat, the feeling of dread growing.

"Okay, if he's near Fawcett City, that gives us some time, but not much. No. No, Alex, no. He's not going to go to Metropolis, he's going to come here."

"Because it hunts Kryptonians. That's what it does. That's its most basic survival instinct, to hunt and kill Kryptonians, and right, there aren't any Kryptonians in Metropolis."

"Kal's off world, and no, he can't get back in time to make a difference. He's… Look, it doesn't matter. Go to my locker. There's an envelope behind that picture of us taped to the inside of the door. It's a list of five phone numbers. Dial the ones marked A, B, D, and V. Don't bother with H. He's with Kal. Tell them he's been spotted, then give them the coordinates of the missile range where we did the Red Tornado tests, and tell them that's where we're going to try to fight him. Tell J'onn I need him to get his attention. He needs to lead him around any populated areas, but he can't try to lead him away from National City."

"No, Alex, stop. He's going to come here. I need J'onn to lead him here while I go to the fortress and get something that will help."

"No. Alex, no."

"Alex, please, just do it."

"Good. I love you. I'll see you soon."

Kara lowered her phone and ended the call, then just sat there for a moment.

"Can I help?" Cat asked.

Kara looked up at her, and Cat felt the lump in her stomach get heavier at the look of fear in those beautiful eyes.

"It's Doomsday," she said. "I… Cat-"

"It's okay, Kara. We can talk about it when you come back."

Kara gave her a watery smile, and nodded. "Tell James and Winn?"

Cat nodded in reply as they both stood up. Cat stepped around the table separating them and pulled Kara into a hug. "Go be Supergirl, but come back to me, Kara Danvers. You hear me?"

"Of course, Miss Grant."

She turned and raced out of the office, headed for the stairwell as fast as she could without revealing herself to the entire bullpen. Cat watched her go, trying desperately to convince herself that this wasn't the last time she was ever going to see Kara, but dear god, it was hard.

Doomsday. The monster that had killed Superman, or so the world had thought. When he'd returned, he'd told the press he'd been in a healing coma for nearly six months. That the doctors who examined him had made a mistake, because they didn't understand Kryptonian physiology. That didn't erase the memories. The photo James had taken of Lois Lane holding Superman's body, utter devastation on her face, tears flowing as she screamed.

Doomsday. The monster had wrecked three cities before he and Superman had beaten each other to into a coma. And now Kara was going off to fight him. Kara who'd just admitted to being Supergirl. Kara who had so much to give. Kara, who was going to change the world, to make it a better place for Cat's sons, and for everyone. Kara, who…

Who Cat loved.

She stepped out of the door of her office, and looked at Winn.

"You, IT hobbit. Fetch Oslen. I need both of you in my office, right now. Come on, move. Chop, Chop."


	2. Deathmatch

Doomsday, as it would happen, was televised. Cat wasn't sure how Winn got over eighty live feeds from the battleground, including ones off the gun camera of the helicopters circling the fight, or ones she was pretty sure from the angle were on Batman's jet. She wasn't sure she wanted all those live feeds, either, but she had them. She was broadcasting the fight on a 15 second delay, which allowed the video techs just enough time to see the live feed and swap between cameras for the broadcast, so there wasn't a moment when the broadcast feed wasn't focused on the monster, or one of the people fighting him.

And there were a lot of people fighting him. Squads of soldiers, firing beams of glowing green energy out of weapons that looked like they belonged in one of Carter's video games. Tanks firing round after round at him. J'onn J'onzz, the alien she'd dubbed the Martian Manhunter, who had become a fixture in National City working alongside Supergirl ever since the Myriad incident. Batman, who was apparently fair less of an urban legend than that rag John Hall ran in Gotham would have people believe. There was also someone who looks like he used to be a young black man, but who had more chrome than a Harley convention during bike week, with some kind of beam weapon where one of his hands should be. And a tall, muscular man with thick black hair and a beard, wielding trident that seems to shoot some sort of energy beams. The most impressive though was Wonder Woman. Tall, black haired, so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her, dressed in red and blue leather, carrying nothing but a sword, a shield, and a lasso, looking every bit the goddess the rumors and legends made her out to be.

Supergirl was nowhere to be seen, and that worried Cat almost as much as seeing her go toe to toe with the monster would. Wonder Woman, the man with the Trident, and the Martian were the only ones who dared to get close. They were tag teaming the thing. J'onn would swoop in and hit him and kick him, get its attention, while she would move in and get in a few blows with her sword, or slam into him with her shield, and once his attention was on her, the trident wielding muscle man would move in and stab or cut the him with the trident. All the while Batman, the Cyborg, and the soldiers would attack from a distance.

It didn't take Cat long to figure out what they were doing. They were buying time, keeping the monster in one place, slowly leading it around the desert in circles. For what, she didn't know, but she hoped that was why Supergirl was absent, that she was off at whatever this fortress was, preparing a plan. Because it was clear, despite their best efforts, the creature was winning. Tanks littered the battle field, smoking ruins of the machines they'd once been. At one point, an armored vehicle had strayed too close, and the monster had snatched it up and thrown it into a helicopter. Cat didn't know the death toll, but it was going to be high, and that didn't even count the two hundred civilians who died when the thing had collapsed a bridge in Colorado.

When it happened, it happened suddenly. Wonder Woman had just taken a cut at the monster's heel, apparently trying to hamstring it, when J'onn changed course and scooped her up, both of them vanishing in a red blur and appearing again near the Batman, before J'onn staggered and collapsed. Before the creature could react, five silver disks fell out of the air, followed by Supergirl hitting the ground in front of it in a classic Superhero landing, one knee on the ground, along with one foot.

She rose up, like a knight standing after taking her vows, and that's when Cat first got a good look at her outfit. The cape was missing, and while the suit's color scheme was entirely Supergirl, the suit itself looked like it belonged in an Iron Man film. Thick, heavy armor plates, glowing lights at the joints, and some kind of devices attached at her hips. She had some sort of glowing energy shield attached to her left arm, and held a sword in her right hand. A sword Cat seen before, the night of the Myriad broadcast. Supergirl reached down and touched a button on the device on her left hip, and a shimmering wall snapped to life around her and the monster, and Cat swallowed in fear.

Supergirl had just locked herself in a cage match with the deadliest creature in the universe.

The creature stared at her for a moment, then moved, charging her. Except Kara wasn't there anymore. She was standing behind the creature, the sword held high as if it had been swung and swung hard. Doomsday made it another two steps before it looked down and saw the gaping wound in its stomach. Unlike the cuts made by Wonder Woman's sword, this one didn't close, and Doomsday turned, howling its rage as it attacked again.

Cat had watched Supergirl fight for over a year now, and she'd always thought of her as a brawler, relying more in strength than technique. But just because she normally didn't need technique apparently did not mean that Supergirl didn't have it, because she was using that technique to survive in a fight Cat wasn't sure Superman could have managed. Every time Doomsday swung at her, Kara was simply somewhere else. Sometimes the moves were small, other times they were faster and bigger. But every time she moved, Kara scored a hit with the glowing green edge of the sword, leaving Doomsday screaming and bleeding, or slammed him with the shield, hard enough to staged him back. Once, she even used the edge of the shield to gouge a deep furrow into its back.

The fight was brutal. There was no other word for it. But Cat didn't understand that Kara was doing, because none of the wounds were crippling. Most of them weren't even deep. She was hurting him, but it was almost like she was trying to taunt him. Make him mad. It was working, but not to Supergirl's advantage. The creature was driving her back, working to pin her into one of the corners, and worse, she didn't seem to realize it, not until the creature charged her again.

Cat held her breath, sure Doomsday was about to deliver a devastating blow, except Kara seemed to have anticipated this exact moment, because one second, she was cowering in front of him, and the next, Doomsday was bouncing off a wall with a sword buried up to the hilt in his back, and Kara was on the far corner of the energy cage.

Doomsday bellowed in rage, and turned towards Kara, starting to charge her again. Cat gripped the arms of her chair tightly, terrified of what could happen, but as the monster reached the middle of the cage, Kara touched the device on her left hip, and suddenly the cage shrank. The walls disappeared for a moment, and reappeared about five feet closer to the center than they were. And Kara was outside.

A moment later Doomsday slammed into the wall separating him and Kara. He beat on it, he howled in rage as he clawed at it, but Kara just stood there, her face implacable as she touched the device on her hip again, and the walls started moving, closing in around Doomsday.

The next few minutes were disturbing. The walls kept collapsing, but Supergirl turned away from the cage, looking at the ground like she was searching for something. She apparently found it, because she blasted several spots on the ground with her heat vision, then blasting the same spots with her freeze breath, before picking up newly created chunks of glass, which she tossed through the walls of the cage. Walls which seemed to allow anything from outside in without problem.

Cat wasn't sure what Supergirl was doing, but she was having trouble paying attention to Kara, because of what was happening in the cage. The moving walls were scraping up dirt off the ground as they went, piling it up in the smaller and smaller cage, slowly burying the monster up to about his waist until finally the cage lifted off the ground, and reshaped itself into a sphere.

Kara, by that point, was done with whatever she'd been doing, and was looking around the battle field. Even if Cat wasn't close enough to see it, she knew Kara's eyes would be filled with pain at the sight of each body on the battle field, and every ruined vehicle that hid the carnage inside. Finally, she turned back to the cage for a moment, and as she looked at it, she reached up and tapped her ear. The audio feed wasn't sensitive enough to pick up what she was saying, but it was clear she was talking to someone. Cat could see the exact moment she made a decision. Something on her face changed, something that reminded Cat just a bit of the night Supergirl had thrown her off a balcony. Kara reached down and touched the device on her left hip again. Something on the ground, one of the devices Kara had dropped when she'd first arrived, came to life. It lit up, energy whirling around it as it built up to something, until a thin beam shot up towards the cage. The entire cage turned black, then quickly shrank down until it disappeared inside the beam, which retracted into the device on the ground.

A moment later, the feeds cut.

Cat didn't see Kara again for three days.


	3. Safe Space

Cat looked up from the Sunday edition of the Tribune at the familiar sound of Supergirl landing on her balcony. She was surprised. She hadn't expected to see Kara until the next day, at least, but relief flooded through her as she stood up. She was so eager to see Kara that it took a moment to occur to her that Kara might not have expected her to be in the building on a Sunday morning. The thought barely slowed her down, though a moment later, she wished she'd paid it more attention. From the way Kara jumped up from the couch she'd been leaning against when Cat opened the door, it was clear the girl did *not* expect her.

"Ms. Grant," she said, and Cat could see the shock on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to be here."

"Sneaking in to steal my M&M's?" Cat asked.

Kara sighed and dropped down onto the couch. "I think I'd prefer your Scotch, but it wouldn't do me any good."

Cat frowned, and walked over to Kara. "Mind if I sit?"

Kara shook her head. "Of course not," she said. "What are you doing here on a Sunday, anyway?"

"Oh, you know how it is. An Empire to run, new Superheroes to name."

Kara smiled, just a bit. "I saw that. Aquaman and Cyborg, huh?"

"Well, 'King Orin' is a terrible name for a Superhero. Almost a pity he's not named Arthur. That I could have worked with. Cyborg wouldn't even give me an interview."

Kara laughed, and Cat felt a little proud of herself for putting that smile back on Kara's face, even if it was just for a moment.

"I'm still surprised Orin gave you an interview. He seemed to like Aquaman though," Kara said.

"Yes, I did notice that. More than your green friend liked 'Martian Manhunter' anyway."

Kara giggled at that, and leaned forward, whispering in a conspiratorial tone, "J'onn actually *loves* Martian Manhunter."

"Really?" Cat said, feeling a bit gleeful at the news. "Think I could get an interview?"

Kara shook her head. "Noooo. No. J'onn is terrified of you."

"Well, as proud as it makes me to hear that, I have to wonder why," she said.

Kara giggled again. "That day, right after the Bizzaro incident, when I came in late and left early."

"That was him?"

"That was him," Kara replied. "He had two agents digging through your background for months afterwards to make sure you're actually human."

Cat couldn't help laughing, and seeing the smile on Kara's face felt good, but she could also see a bit of worry behind it, so she wasn't at all surprised by the girl's next question.

"Why are you really here?" Kara asked, because bright smiles and sunny disposition aside, Kara was a worrier. Never about herself, but always about those around her.

"Carter's still in Hawaii, which is probably the safest place I could think of to send him. Even with the warning you gave me, I barely got the company jet out before the FAA locked down all flights, and they still haven't lifted the no-fly order."

"I'm sorry," Kara said, and Cat wanted to scream, because this was absolutely not something Kara should feel guilty about, but of course she did.

"Kara, don't apologize because some bureaucrat is keeping me from seeing my son. You're the reason he was safe when the rest of National City was in danger, and you're the reason he has a home to come back to. In case you didn't notice, you just saved the world. Again."

"Yeah, I just did it the wrong way, apparently," Kara replied, and Cat could hear the anger and frustration in her voice, replacing the humor they'd shared just a few moments before.

"Who said that?" Cat asked, but she knew the answer almost as soon as she'd asked the question, because this felt exactly like what happened after Kara's little drug induced episode.

"James," Kara said, and Cat can see the frustration written on her face. "It's stupid. He just… Rao's Shadow, every time we fight, it's the same thing. 'Yeah, Kara, you won, but that's not the way Superman would have done it. Yeah, Kara, it's great that you stopped the giant slug from eating a bus full of nuns, but did you ask it how it felt about having its meal interrupted before you punched it in the face? Yeah, Kara, you saved the city, but your cousin would never jay walk during a fight. Yeah, Kara, you stopped the bomb from leveling the city, but he would have asked it politely to not to explode before he lobbed it into orbit. Yeah, sure, the thing killed him last time, but Clark never would have fought it without offering to discuss the situation over a cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows first.'"

She stood up and started pacing, and Cat wondered if she ever realized what she'd just said, that she'd just let Superman's secret identity slip. Probably not, if the way she was ranting was any indication.

"I did everything I could, I called in five other people, at least two of which could go toe to toe with me or my cousin, I had two hundred and fifty agents, and a full regiment of soldiers fighting that thing, and they were losing. We did everything, every single thing we could think of to keep people safe, but three hundred and thirty-two people still died. And I know it shouldn't matter, I know I should care about all of them, but some of those people were my friends. Agents I've worked with for over a year. People I had lunch or dinner with a couple of times a week. People who'd followed me into battle, and showed me pictures of their kids. One of them had a little girl, and I'd just signed a Supergirl poster for her last week, and now J'onn has to go explain to her that her hero couldn't keep her Mommy safe."

Cat swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She'd never talked about it with Kara, not while her secret identity was in the way, but she knew Kara still felt the loss of her parents deeply. She'd picked up that much during their conversation during the Livewire fiasco, and during Myriad. Even if she hadn't, she'd seen firsthand the intensity with which Kara loved.

"I did that. I sent them out there to die. I told them they had to hold him in the desert, because the only way I could think to fight him was a weapon that was even more dangerous than he was. I… I failed so many people."

"No," Cat said. She stood up and stepped in front of Kara, reaching up to catch her by the shoulders. "No, you didn't."

Kara looked up at her, and Cat felt her heart break at the pain and guilt she saw her eyes.

"Kara, you go out there every day, and you face impossible choices. The bomb at the airport, or the bomb on the train, the fire in the tenement, or the bridge that's collapsing. You know you can't save everyone. This isn't any different. You didn't run away because you were afraid to fight it, you asked people who chose to stand with you to buy you the time to get a weapon that could actually stop Doomsday."

"But-"

Cat held up a hand to silence Kara before she started speaking. "Do you remember what you told me after Myriad?"  
Kara nodded.

"You said you didn't want to die, but you knew you might, and you were at peace with it, as long as you could protect everyone else."

"Yes," Kara said.

"Would you have wanted anyone to feel guilty if you had died?"

"No."

"They made the same choice as you, Kara. They went out there knowing they could die, but willing to if it meant protecting the people they love." She rested her hands on Kara's shoulders again. "This woman, the one with the daughter… You didn't fail her. You saved her daughter's life. You protected what she loved most in the world. The same way you would have wanted your unnecessarily tall green friend to protect your sister and your mother if you hadn't made it back."

Kara let out a little laugh at the description, and Cat felt herself smile.

"How do you know about that?" she asked.

"You are literally the worst person in the world at keeping secrets," Cat said.

"I am not," Kara huffed.

Cat rolled her eyes. "So, you really expected me to believe that your sister, who I've seen at your desk at least two dozen times, just happens to work for the secret government agency that works with Supergirl, and your foster mother just happened to show up in the middle of the whole Myriad fiasco, and you know nothing about it, and couldn't possibly be Supergirl."  
Kara at least had the decency to look a little sheepish.

"Now," Cat said, leading Kara back to the sofa and sitting down, "What idiotic thing did Olsen say?"

Kara sat down next to her, an uncharacteristic frown on her face, and Cat felt herself getting more and more angry with Olsen as she saw the way Kara's shoulders slumped. "He was upset about the fight."

"Why?"

"He said I was cruel. That it looked like I enjoyed hurting Doomsday. He was upset because I just attacked him instead of trying to reason with him first."

"It sounded like this isn't the first time you've had an argument like this?" Cat asked.

Kara shook her head. "No. Every time I do something he thinks my cousin wouldn't do, we have the same fight."

Cat slipped a hand under Kara's cape, rubbing her back gently the way she did with Carter when he was upset.

"I think I broke up with him," Kara said.

"You're not sure?" Cat asked

Kara shrugged. "Things got really heated. He says I didn't have the right to play judge, jury and executioner." She leaned into Cat, and Cat slipped her arm around Kara, hugging her gently.

"What did you say?"

"I told him he could judge my decisions after he watched thirty billion people burn right in front of his eyes."

Cat squeezed Kara gently. "That does sound like it would be a little hard to come back from."

Kara leaned into Cat and rested her head on Cat's shoulder. "I'm not sure I want to."

Cat forced herself not to react, because there was a small, traitorous little part of her that wanted to jump for joy at the idea of Kara dumping James Olsen. It was a part of herself that she hated, because she knew she shouldn't feel the way she did about Kara, knew she shouldn't want to lean down and kiss the frown off her face. Instead, she did what was best for Kara.

"I could fire him, if you want?"

"No!" Kara said, lifting her head off Cat's shoulder to look at her. "Please don't."

"Okay," she said, running her hand up and down Kara's bicep. "But if you change your mind, let me know."

Kara smiled, just a little, and rested her head on Cat's shoulder again. "Maybe demote him, just a little?"

Cat laughed. "I'll send him to the mail room, first thing tomorrow morning."

Kara slipped her arm around Cat's waist and Cat felt her snuggle in just a little closer. "I'm sorry I didn't come see you sooner," she said.

"It's okay," Cat said, even though it isn't. Even though she'd wanted Kara to come back as soon as the fight was over, but Kara was already carrying so much, and Cat refuses to add to it. "I knew you were safe."

They sat together, holding each other quietly, and Cat loved it, and hated it. She loved it, because it made her feel warm, and special, and important in a way nothing else did. Hated it, because it was a borrowed feeling. Something she wasn't entitled to. Something Kara would one day give to a lover who was worthy of her. Hated it because it was going to end, and she might never get to feel that way again.

She turned, about to ask if Kara would like for her to order them dinner, only to find that she had a Kryptonian sleeping on her shoulder.


	4. Office Visits

Cat strode out of her personal elevator like she owned the place, which she did, but it never hurt to remind her various minions of that fact. That reminder was half the reason she'd wanted the personal elevator in the first place. Not having to swim to the fortieth floor in cheap cologne and germs was the other.

One of the minions, her newest assistant, approached her with a cup from Noonans.

"Your Latte Ms. Grant," the girl said, and Cat just looked down at the tray she held in her hand which was loaded with two Cups and a bag from Noonans, then back up at the girl.

"Um, never mind?" The girl said, taking a step back.

Cat shook her head and turned away from her office, heading towards the main elevator before taking a sharp right and walking down the hall to Kara's office. She slowed as she heard voices coming out of Kara's open door.

"I don't have time for this right now. Snapper's already upset that I missed two and a half days of work. I have to finish the edits on the Refugee story for the next issue of the magazine, and come up with something to file for the Tribune if I want to keep my job."

"Well, when do you want to talk about it? Because you haven't been answering your phone."

"I don't know, James. I'm not sure I *ever* want to talk about it."

"Kara…"

"I think she made herself perfectly clear, Mr. Oslen," Cat said as she walked in through Kara's office door. "And, since I know for a fact that I don't have the photo essay, or the expanded layout for Kara's refugee piece I asked for, you should be in your little glass box, working."

James glared at her for just a moment, but the challenge in his eyes melted away after just a couple of seconds and he left wearing the pout Cat found so annoying on his face. She watched him go, then pushed the door closed behind him before turning back to Kara. She crossed the office in a couple of steps and set down.

"Thank you, Ms. Grant."

"Don't think anything of it, Kara. He was out of line bringing it up in the office. Especially with the door open."

Kara sighed. "I needed to hear that."

Cat felt her heckles rising, and she could practically hear the part of the conversation she missed. Oslen would have insisted Kara owed it to him to hear what he had to say, and try to guilt her for not wanting to talk about it right that second. She tamped down on the anger that was building, and picked up Kara's drink from the tray, passing it over to her.

"Pumpkin Spice, extra foam, with cinnamon on top," she said. She opened the bag, and pulled out her own bagel sandwich, then passed the bag over to Kara. "Three orange cinnamon buns."

Kara smiled. "How did you manage that? They're always out of the orange ones by the time I get there."

"Mmmm," Cat said as she shrugged. "I'm Cat Grant."

Kara laughed, and Cat had to take a deep breath to stop the little flutter in her heart at that sound.

"Thank you, Ms. Grant."

"Kara."

"Yes?"

"I want to ask you two favors."

Kara sat up a little straighter. "What can I do for you?"

"First, you can call me Cat," she said. "It's not a privilege I extend most people, but you've more than earned it, even without all you've done for me as Supergirl."

"Really?" Kara asked.

"Yes," she said. "And I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner, because I should have."

"It's okay-"

"No, it's not," Cat said. She looked Kara in the eyes. "When you were out there, fighting that thing, I was worried about Supergirl because I know how much this city needs her, but I was terrified for my friend. The one who saved my job, and who brought my son back into my life, and who spent two years putting up with every nasty thing I could throw at her, while taking care of me in ways I doubt I'll ever know about. Which brings me to the second favor."

"What's that?"

"I don't expect this to be a problem, because I know you have several people who can and are perfectly willing to throw James Olsen through a building if he becomes an issue, but Kara, promise me that you'll let me know if it comes to a point where one of you has to leave."

"Cat-"

"No, Kara. I mean it. James Olsen is a very good art director, but you are irreplaceable."  
Kara was silent for a moment, and Cat looked down and her bagel, unwrapping it as she pretended not to notice while Kara took a tissue and wiped her eyes.

"Thank you."

Cat looked up and pushed her latte towards Kara. "You can thank me by heating that up."  
Kara smiled and reached for the cup, and Cat watched in fascination as Kara zapped the Latte with her heat vision, before passing it back to her. Cat had to take a sip to keep herself from smiling at the proud little puppy dog expression Kara was wearing. She sat the cup back down, and looked at Kara.

"So, I had an idea for an article for the Tribune that I think you would be uniquely qualified to write."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I want you to write a tribute to the agents who died fighting Doomsday."

Cat watched as Kara's face fell. "Me?"

Cat nodded. "Yes."

"Miss Gr… Cat, I'm not sure-"

Cat leaned forward, resting her hand on Kara's. "Kara, you need to do this."

"But why?"

"Because you knew them. Because this is how you can change the world. People see Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, Cyborg, Superman, the Flash, and it brings them hope for a better world. It lets them know that there are people out there who care, who are trying to make a difference. But this, this will let them know they can make a difference too. And when they believe in themselves, that's when they'll go out and start trying to make that difference. You can give them that. But more than that, you need to do this for yourself, to remind yourself of who these people where, and why they chose to follow you. So you can find peace with it."

Kara looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "I'll need to make some calls," she said.

"Okay, but let's finish breakfast first," Cat said.

* * *

The pounding in Cat's head had been steadily building all day. First, the idiot running the sports desk for the Trib had turned up drunk in the middle of the fucking Olympics. She'd tried to fire him, only to have the CatCo employee union step in and tell her she had to give him a chance to go through rehab first. She'd spent hours going back and forth with them, only to have legal step in and take their side. She'd finally bought out the six months remaining on the man's contract, just to get rid of him, and promoted the assistant editor who'd been doing most of his work anyway.

If that hadn't been bad enough, Carter's father had called to tell Cat he was cancelling, again. Cat always had mixed feelings about things like that when it happened. She hated not having Carter, and as always delighted to have more time with him, but she hated her ex-husband for disappointing her son, who always asked for so little. She could give Carter anything in the world, but he never really asked for anything aside from a few comic books, the occasional video game, and various tools. The only real place she had to indulge him was his obsession with all things Supergirl. He had pretty much every piece of Supergirl memorabilia she could lay her hands on. But her husband couldn't even be bothered to show up and take their son to a damn amusement park.

"You look like you could use this," Kara said.

Cat looked up to find Kara standing in front of her, holding a small glass dish with two advil in it.

"Thank you," Cat said as she reached for the pills.

"I heard about the sports editor," she said as she sat down. "I texted Eve, and told her to bring you these, but she texted back that you had her take the CatCopter to Keystone city to get you a Cronut."

"She was getting on my nerves," Cat said before taking a pull off her water bottle. She popped the Advil, then swallowed them. "I thought you'd be happy I didn't just fire her."

"Oh, I am. I'd even call this progress, if she wasn't even more terrified of helicopters than you are."

"They say adversity builds character," Cat replied as she leaned back, closer her eyes, and rubbed her temples.

"Did you have your Lexipro this morning?" Kara asked.

"Yes," Cat said, smiling as. "The reminder you set in my Outlook helps with that."

"Sunglasses are in your top drawer, left hand side," Kara said.

Cat reached down and opened the drawer, finding the sunglasses by feel and putting them on. "Thank you," she said as she opened her eyes, and didn't immediately feel like someone had driven an ice pick into her brain."

"Carter's dad cancelled again, huh?"

"How'd you know?"

"You always used to send me across the bay to Vic's to get you a cheese steak when he pissed you off."

"You noticed that?"

"I noticed everything, Cat."

Cat balled her hands into fists, squeezing tightly to keep her heart from fluttering the way it always did when Kara said things like that. The girl had no idea what those little statements did to Cat's emotional state, the way every little reminder that the girl cared for her made the longing that much worse. She just had to remind herself it wasn't the girl's fault, over and over again.

"It kept you safe," she said. "I was afraid I'd fire you when I was mad at him."

"I know," Kara replied. "Though it took me a long time to figure that one out. I thought you were just eating your emotions, until I realized you liked the cheese steaks from Vinny's better than the one from Vic's."

"Vinny's sautés their onions and green peppers with kielbasa," Cat said.

"Better bread, too."

"I read over the Doomsday tributes," Cat said. She didn't even need to open her eyes to feel the way Kara tensed up. "They were really well done, Kara. Better than the Refugee piece."

"Thank you," Kara replied.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Better," Kara said. "You were right. I thought it would be terrible, and at first, it was, but it also helped a lot."

They sat there in silence for a while, until Cat could feel the pressure start to ease in her head. When she opened her eyes, she found Kara just sitting there, a contented smile on her face, and thought that if she'd known it would mean she would get moments like this, she would have promoted Kara a lot sooner.

Unfortunately, what she saw behind Kara spoiled the effect a bit. James Oslen was standing there next to the hobbit's desk, and she could practically feel the jealousy radiating off him. It wasn't the first time it had happened. When she'd called him on the carpet for the way he was treating Kara after her little close encounter of the mind altering substance kind, she'd apparently given away more than she thought, because there had been a subtle shift in the way James looked at her whenever she was around Kara.

On the other hand, given what she'd heard from Kara, there was a small part of her that was beginning to think Lucy's catty comments about Superman being James' secret boyfriend weren't entirely off the mark. Oh, she didn't think anything ever actually happened there. Clark Kent was so hopelessly devoted to Lois Lane she doubted he'd even noticed his best friend crushing on him.

"Do you need me to clear your schedule for the weekend?" Kara asked.

Cat refocused her gaze on Kara. "No. I appreciate it, but I'll have Eve do it. As much as I miss your efficiency and attention to detail, it's not fair to either of you to ask you to step in and do her job."

"You're right. I just…" Kara blushed and looked down at her knees.

"What?"

"You'll think it's silly," she said.

"I doubt I'll find it as silly as you continuing to wear those hideous cardigans when I know for a fact that you have better fashion sense than most of Miranda Priestly's staff."

Kara laughed, and shook her head. "I don't want you to think I'm not grateful for the promotion, but I liked taking care of you," she said, blushing even harder than before.

Cat tried to say something, but found she couldn't speak around the lump in her throat, so instead, she reached over and picked up her bottle of water, taking a drink while she ran through the calming exercises Dr. Shuman had given her for when her anxiety flared up. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, she should have never even considered what she did next, because she knew what it would do to her, how it would make her feel, but the longing on Kara's face was too much for her, and the words were spilling out before she could stop herself.

"Well, there is something you could do for me," Cat says.

Kara perked up, and she looked so damn enthusiastic at the idea that Cat wanted to just crawl into her lap and kiss her, because in the forty-eight years, four marriages and countless relationships, romantic and otherwise that came before, no one, save her father and her youngest son, ever made her feel half as loved or cherished as Kara Danvers did on an average day, and that was before Myriad, before the promotion, before they'd moved from boss and employee to friends.

"Six Flags Nation's Bay opened a Supergirl themed roller coaster last week," Cat said.

"Oh," Kara said. "I hadn't heard."

"Yes, well, Carter has," Cat said. "His father was supposed to take him, but since he cancelled, I'll have to do it."

"But you hate roller coasters," Kara said

"Not as much as I hate seeing Carter disappointed," Cat replied. "But I'm curious… How do you feel about roller coasters?"

Cat watched as a smile spread across Kara's face. "I love them," she said.

"Do you have any plans this weekend?"

"Yes," Kara said, and for a moment, Cat felt a sense of almost crushing disappointment, until she heard what Kara said next. "I'm going to Six Flags with my friend and her son."

The disappointment vanished, and Cat felt her heart melt, just a little bit more.


	5. Saying No

Cat couldn't stop herself from smiling as the town car slowly made its way across Otto Bender Bridge. Any other day at all, the traffic would have driven her crazy, but not today. Not when she sat in the back of her town car, watching Kara and Carter sleep. Carter's head was resting on Kara's shoulder, and her arm was wrapped tightly around him, and both of them were out like a light, and the sight was making Cat's heart ache.

They'd picked Kara up a little before 8:00 AM that morning, so they could be at the park when it opened at 9:00 AM. Kara has spent the entire drive to the park chatting with Carter, listening attentively as he enthusiastically described the Supergirl coaster in detail. Everything from the section where you flew between the wires on a bridge before skimming over a small lake, to the twisting spiral supposedly based on her fight with Red Tornado. Cat didn't get a lot of the details, she'd been to busy enjoying watched the two of them together. Something that had continued through the entire day, as Kara had taken Carter on every ride in the park.

Cat had joined them on a few. Not the roller coasters, but on the river raft ride, the go carts, and the carousel. She'd also fed them enough funnel cake, ice cream, pop-corn, pretzels, nachos and other assorted junk to satisfy a small army. Kara had eaten most of it, though Carter was a teenage boy, and had packed away far more than was good for him.

Cat had loved every minute of it. Something she hated herself for, because she could imagine this being her life far too easily. Working to make CatCo an even bigger success than it already was. Mentoring Kara, raising her son, and spending all her time outside of work with them, making them happy. She was so incredibly smitten with Kara it wasn't even funny, and she knew she was setting herself up for a fall, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. The walls she's spent a lifetime building around her heart seemed to work not at all to keep out a girl who could simply fly over them, radiating joy as if she were the sun itself.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Cat jumped, just a little, in surprise at the sound of Kara's voice. "I thought you were asleep," she grouched.

Kara opened her eyes and looked up at Cat. "I was, but I heard your heartbeat change," she said. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Cat said. "I was just…" She shook her head. "It's silly, I suppose, but I was thinking that someday you're going to be a wonderful mother." Kara smiled and looked down at Carter, but there was a sadness to it that Cat couldn't quite place. Not until Kara spoke.

"I'm not sure that's in the cards for me," she said. "I used to imagine it. A family, a white picket fence. Someplace like Eliza's house in Midvale, but that was before."

"Before what?"

"Before Fort Rozz," Kara said. "I think that's part of the problem I had with James. Something changed in me that day."

Cat glanced down to make sure Carter was still sleeping, before she asked, "What changed?"

"When I came to Earth, I tried to put Kara Zor-El behind me. It's what Jeremiah and Eliza wanted. I think on some level, it's what Kal-El wanted. Sometimes I think it's what I wanted. To be Kara Danvers. But Kara Danvers was never who I really was. She was always a mask. Just a piece of me. The same way Supergirl is just a piece of me. But that day, I wasn't Supergirl, and I wasn't Kara Danvers. That day, I was Kara Zor-El. I was the last daughter of Krypton, putting right one of the mistakes of my people by protecting this world. It felt right. It felt like I was whole again for the first time in a long time."

"I think James was Kara Danvers' dream. But I don't just want to be Kara Danvers. I want to be Kara Zor-El. I want to be my whole self. And James is just not a good fit for her. He doesn't understand that I'm not human. Not the way Kal-El is."

"I think you, Alex and J'onn are the only ones who've ever really accepted that."

Cat felt herself blushing slightly, and had to look away. She let her gaze fall to Carter as she spoke. "You might be giving me too much credit," she said.

"No," Kara replied. "You respect me when I make a decision. You respect me enough to tell me when I'm wrong, but you also help me find a better way. You make me a better version of myself, because that's what you want for me. James… James wanted me to be my cousin in a skirt. I told him back when all this started I didn't want to be the kind of hero Kal is, but I don't think it ever really sunk in."

Cat started to say something else, but Carter shifted, and she could tell he was about to wake up, so she settled for reaching up and resting her hand on Kara's, giving it a little squeeze.

Kara smiled at her, then looked down at Carter. She opened her mouth to say something, but the car filled with the sounds of Secret Agent Man, and instead, Kara sighed. "I'm sorry," she said as she pulled out her phone. "She said she wouldn't call today unless it was an emergency."

Carter, still a bit groggy, shifted from Kara's side, settling in against Cat as they both watched her dig out her phone.

"Hey, Alex," she said. She listened for a minute, then sighed and shook her head. "No. I told you this would be all day." She listened for a moment, and Cat could see the frustration in her face. "Look, can't J'onn do it?" Another moment of silence.

"You're kidding. Tell me you're kidding." Kara huffed. "No. I said I wasn't available today unless it was an emergency. This is not an emergency." Kara rolled her eyes. "Alex, I don't know how many times I have to say no, but they can either talk to J'onn, or they can wait until morning." There was some response on the other end of the phone that made Kara grind her teeth. "Look, I'm hanging up now. Call me if there's an actual emergency, but otherwise, I'm off for the night." She lowered her phone, and Cat could tell she was being especially careful not to hit the disconnect button with too much force.

"Everything okay?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Kara said. "Sorry. Alex is being Alex."

"Anything you can talk about?"

Kara glanced down at Carter, and Cat could see the wheels turning. Finally, she nodded. "You remember Alex is an FBI agent?"

"Really?" Carter asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Kara said. "She even works with Supergirl sometimes."

"That is so cool!" Carter said.

"Most days, I agree," Kara said.

"It sounded like she needed your help," Cat said.

"Yeah," Kara replied.

"You help the FBI?" Carter asked.

"Sometimes," Kara said. "It's not as exciting as it sounds. I speak a bunch of different languages, so sometimes, when they can't find a translator, she calls me."

"Did they arrest someone?" Carter asked.

"No, but they need to talk to someone, so she called."

"But you said somebody named John spoke their language," Carter said.

"They are refusing to talk to him," Kara replied.

"Why?" Carter asked.

Kara frowned, clearly not wanting to answer. She glanced up at Cat, and gave an apologetic shrug. "They're racist," she said.

"Oh," Carter said, and his smile dropped just a bit.

"I'm sorry, buddy," Kara said. "I didn't mean to spoil your day."

Carter smiled up at her. "You didn't," he said. "I'm just sad your friend has to put up with that."

Kara smiled. "You are amazing, you know that?"

"Of course he is," Cat said. "He's my son." She gave Carter's shoulder a small rub. "Now, where do you two want to get dinner?"

"Can we go home and get dinner delivered?" Carter asked.

Cat looked up at Kara, not needing to ask the question out loud, and only needing the slightest of nods in answer. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."


	6. Tear Stains Are Acceptable

A few hours, one large dinner of Italian delivery, and a game of Settlers of Catan later, Carter headed off to bed, while Cat and Kara sat in the kitchen, sipping glasses of wine.

"Thank you," Cat said, as soon as she heard Carter's door close.

"For what?" Kara asked.

"For not running out on him today," Cat said. "He might not say it, but I know it meant a lot to him that you stayed."

"I wanted to stay," Kara said. "Carter's amazing."

"A sentiment his father doesn't seem to share, if the number of cancelled visits is anything to go by."

Kara started into her wine glass for a moment, then looked up at Cat. "I never wanted to say anything," she said. "I didn't think it was my place, but you have lousy tastes in husbands."

Cat laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair. Would have, if Kara hadn't reached out to steady her. "You finally found the flaw in my otherwise perfect self," she said. She picked up her wine glass and took another sip. "Honestly, Anthony wasn't a terrible husband. He was probably the best of the lot, not that that's a high bar. I divorced him because he's a terrible father. If I could have, I wouldn't even have given him visitation, but as good as my divorce lawyer is, she couldn't quite manage to swing that."

Kara shook her head. "I can't even imagine having a child, any child, and not wanting to spend every moment you possibly can with them. Much less one as wonderful as Carter."

"You have a very different perspective on the value of loved ones," Cat said. "I feel the same way about Carter though. I love CatCo, but after what I went through with Adam, I knew I couldn't do that again. I handed off a lot of work I used to do myself when he was born and I've never regretted it. I wouldn't give up a single moment I've got to spend with him for anything in the world."

Kara smiled and glanced down the hallway where Carter had disappeared. "Sometimes, I look at him, and I imagine what it would have been like if my ship hadn't been knocked off course."

"What did you mean?" Cat asked.

"Oh," Kara said. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget that you don't know all the details."

"Well, I admit I haven't quite been able to put together why you seem to remember living on Krypton when your cousin doesn't."

"That's because I'm thirteen years older than Kal," Kara said. "I was supposed to arrive with him and take care of him, but my pod got caught in the explosion of Krypton and knocked off course. I drifted for almost twenty-four years before the guidance system rebooted, and brought me here."

"Your parents sent a thirteen-year-old girl here to raise an infant?" Cat asked, not even trying to keep the anger out of her voice.

Kara just nodded. "We were all supposed to come. Me, Kal-El, our parents. But Krypton was in chaos. My aunt Astra had lead a rebellion, Dru-Zod had started a civil war, and Jax-Ur had blown up one of the moons. The entire planet was under martial law and travel off world was forbidden. Jor couldn't get a large ship without attracting attention. The pods we came in were commuter vehicles. The Kryptonian equivalent of a Ford Fiesta. He'd only finished fitting two of them with the extended duration stasis systems we needed for the trip when the core went critical. He thought we'd have more time."

Kara took another sip of her wine. "I used to wonder why they gave me the second pod. Why aunt Lara didn't just climb in and go. Sometimes I wondered why Lara or my Mom didn't climb into the pod with Kal and I. It took me a long time to realize it was guilt. They'd known what was happening, and they'd done nothing to stop it. After I found out what happened, I realized that dying along with Krypton must have seemed honorable. But the truth is, it was the easy way out. They left the hard part for me. Because getting back up when you've watched the world end…"

Cat reached out and took Kara's hand in hers, squeezing it as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry."

Kara closed her eyes, nodded as she carefully squeezed Cat's hand back.

"I don't think I realized what was happening. Not really. I don't think I really understood when I got in that pod that I would never see them again. And then, I got knocked off course, and my pod drifted into the phantom zone."

"The phantom zone?" Cat asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"It's a… a hole in space time. A place where gravitational stresses create a sort of pocket universe where time doesn't work the same way. I drifted there for twenty-four years, not quite awake, but not entirely asleep. Just alone in the dark." Kara took a deep breath, and Cat could tell she was fighting back sobs. "That's when I realized I'd never see them again. I thought I'd be there forever. That I'd never join them in Rao's light."

Cat couldn't stand to see the pain on Kara's face anymore, so she did the only thing she could think of. She moved around the table, and wrapped Kara in a hug. Kara hugged her back for a long time, shaking as she cried. Kara held on as if her life depended up it, and Cat was struck by how right it felt to be there, to lend Kara her strength, to support her and whisper soft words of comfort as she stroked Kara's hair. It felt like this was her place in the world. It felt like home.

Finally, Kara let her go, and reached up, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Cat replied.

Kara shook her head. "I didn't mean to turn your evening into a sob fest about my parents."

Cat reached out and brushed a lock of hair back behind Kara's ear. "I'm sure the dry cleaners will be able to get the tear stains out of my blouse," she said.

Kara laughed, and the smile that went with it lit up the room, but all Cat could think of was that she'd trade tear stains on her blouse for a hug from Kara any day of the week.


	7. Mistranslation

Cat walked into Kara's office Monday morning carrying a tray loaded with her Latte, a Pumpkin Spice, Extra Foam with Cinnamon, three Orange Glazed Sticky Buns and a Bagel from Noonans. Kara looked up as her, and a huge smile spread across both their faces. Cat closed the door and dropped into the chair in front of Kara's desk. Without being asked, Kara took the Lattes, opened Cat's, and gave it a quick blast with her heat vision while Cat took the bagel and the sticky buns out of the bag and fixed plates for them both.

"I didn't expect to see you this morning," Kara said as she passed the now hot Latte back over.

"I wanted to check in and see how things went with the translating," Cat said.

Kara shrugged. "A freighter needed permission to land and make repairs. The whole thing should have taken five minutes, but they're Breecy, and Breecy have a thing about shape shifters, so they wouldn't talk to J'onn. I stopped in at the DEO on the way home Saturday night and took care of it."

Cat nodded. "Does that happen often? Aliens stopping by, I mean."

"It's getting more common, now that word's getting out about the Alien Amnesty act," Kara said. She looked up and the twinkle in her eye made Cat smile. "And no, I can't write an article on that. Technically, it's all still classified."

"But here you are, telling me," Cat said.

"When have the usual rules ever applied to you?" Kara asked.

Cat couldn't stop herself from preening, just a bit at that. "It has been a while," she admitted.

"How's Carter?" Kara asked.

"Still excited," Cat said. "I don't think he's ever enjoyed a trip to Six Flags that much."

Cat watched the small blush color Kara's cheeks at that. Kara took a bite out of one of her sticky buns, and chewed slowly. Cat could tell she was trying to gather her courage, though she wasn't sure for what.

"I'd love to do something like that again sometime," Kara said.

Cat had to look away this time, to take a deep breath, and collect herself, because her heart was suddenly pounding a mile a minute in her chest, but she forced herself to look at Kara, before she had a chance to think Cat was rejecting her. "I think we'd both love that," she said.

The smile on Kara's face was so bright it hurt to look at it.

* * *

Cat should have been miserable. The entire week was a nightmare. The CatCo website had been hit with a denial of service attack that had cost them almost five million dollars in ad revenue. She's found out that one of the Broadcast producers had been getting handsy with the women in the Studio, and the firing had been messy, though she'd taken more delight that she probably should have in making sure the man would never work in television again. The fashion department was an absolute disaster that was on it's third editor in two months, because Kelly was brilliant, and finding someone to replace her was proving a lot harder than expected. But somehow, none of that really seemed to matter, because any time it started to be too much, Cat just took a moment and thought about the surprise she was planning for Kara and Carter.

Carter might spend more time at Six Flags because it was in the city, but Cat knew he really loved Disneyland. She also knew Kara loved the park as well. So, after making sure Kara would be free on the weekend in question barring any Supergirl emergencies, Cat had booked the Mt Whitney Suite at the Disney Grand Californian for three days. She wasn't planning on telling Carter about it until the last minute, just in case there *was* a Supergirl emergency, but she was practically vibrating with excitement at the idea of spending a weekend with Kara and Carter.

Which was a dangerous way to feel, because no matter how many times she told herself it wasn't, this felt just a tiny bit too much like a family getaway. But no amount of reality seemed to shake her out of her happy little daydreams of her, Carter and Kara being a family. She'd finally just decided to enjoy the dream while it lasted and ignore the specter of her inevitable disappointment.

"Cat."

She looked up from the layouts she'd been working on, the fifth draft Fashion had submitted which was still a disaster, and felt a smile spread across her face at the sight of Kara walking into her office.

"Hello, Kara," she said, gesturing to the seat across from her. Kara dropped into the seat, and Cat could immediately tell something was off. "Everything okay?"

"Mostly," Kara said. "I finished the profile on Lena for the Women In Charge special and Snapper was really happy with the article I did on her helping Supergirl stop the gang using alien weapons."

"I may lack your green skinned friend's mind reading powers, but I've known you long enough to tell something is wrong. Missing the IT Hobbit?"

"A little," Kara said, "But he's really enjoying the new job."

"Well, that's good. As long as your shadowy government agent friends don't poach any more of my actually competent employees."

Kara laughed. "Don't think they haven't tried a time or two," she said. "I'm pretty sure J'onn would love to have me on the DEO payroll, just so he could order me not to wear the skirt anymore."

"Well, I could call a couple of people, and have a new suit designed for you. You would look fabulous in Armani."

"I'll keep that in mind, but you don't need to worry. I'm not going anywhere. I love it here."

Cat felt the smile spread across her face, and her heart skip a beat. "That's good to hear. Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong? You seemed fine before you went to lunch."

Kara took a deep breath, and Cat could tell by the way her eyes dropped that it was something serious. "My sister just came out to me," she said.

Cat stared at Kara for a moment, and felt a cold sense of dread spread through her. She wanted to kick herself, because she'd been siting there entertaining day dreams of a happy little domestic life with Kara and suddenly the little soap bubble was popped. Because whatever else may be happening, Kara's sister had just come out and it was clear that it wasn't welcome news. For once in her life, Cat didn't know how to react, because the one constant about Kara had always been how open and loving she was. The idea that Kara might have some sort of problem with someone because of their sexuality had simply never occurred to her, and yet, it certainly sounded like that was what was going on.

Cat's first instinct was to lash out. To let Kara know in no uncertain terms that she didn't have time for her family drama, and to run the girl out of her office, while she poured herself a few fingers of Scotch, before going down and venting her rage on the idiots in the fashion department who didn't know how to do their damn job. The only thing that saved her, that kept her from spiking her entire relationship with Kara, was the decades worth of reporter instinct to check and double check her facts.

"I take it this is unwelcome news?" she asked, her tone perhaps a bit colder than she'd intended from the expression on Kara's face, because the girl looked absolutely terrified.

"No!" Kara said. "No. Of course not." She shook her head. "I mean… On Krypton, it wasn't…" Kara stopped, and took a breath, clearly trying to gather herself. "On Krypton, marriages were arranged when we were very young. I was actually betrothed to a boy named Marn-Zod when I was about two years old."

"Zod? As in General Zod?" Cat asked.

"That was General Dru-Zod. Marn-Zod was his nephew. Marn was the son of Bar-Zod, who was the youngest of Dru-Zod's three brothers. The betrothal was dissolved after my mother sentenced Dru-Zod to life in the Phantom Zone."

"I could see how that would make family dinners a bit awkward," Cat said. Honestly, the whole thing sounded more than a bit barbaric, but it wasn't like there weren't still cultures on Earth that practiced arranged marriages, though she didn't know if any of them would make the arrangements that early.

"A little," Kara said. "But it was more about Zod rejecting the prospect of an alliance with El. Marriages weren't about love or sex. They were for the purpose of shoring up alliances. It wasn't uncommon for spouses to go their entire lives without actually consummating the marriage. Most children weren't conceived naturally anyway. Parents would buy a birthing Matrix. The Matrix would take a blood sample from each of them, and analyze the genomes, and present them with a list of available traits to select for. There was a bit of randomization to the process, and the Matrix would consult with the central database to determine societal needs, before designing a genome for the child. Then the Matrix would incubate the child. That's how I was born."

"Sexuality wasn't really an acceptable topic of conversation on Krypton outside of biology lessons. At least, not in the houses. Physical intimacy was considered a private matter. People outside the houses might marry for love, but it was accepted practice among the houses for people who were married to take lovers."

"And homosexuality?" Cat asked.

"Sexual orientation didn't really exist as a concept in Kryptonian culture," Kara said. "Not the way it does here. Your lover was your lover. Male, Female. It didn't really matter, as long as the relationship didn't bring shame on you or your house."

"But arranged marriages were always between men and women?" Cat asked.

"Among the Houses," Kara said. "Outside of the houses, marriages were arranged later. Gender equality was pretty solid on Krypton, but we were patriarchal for a *long* time, and the houses clung to a lot of old traditions. The Houses still traced inheritance solely the male line."

"I must admit, I'm confused. If this isn't some Kryptonian religious or cultural issue, then why are you upset?" Cat asked.

"I feel like this is my fault," Kara said.

"That your sister is gay?"

"No. I mean, I feel like it's my fault that it's taken her so long to realize that she's gay," Kara said.

Cat stared at Kara for a moment. All of the anger, grief, misery and disappointment she'd felt building inside her seemed to just melt away, leaving nothing but an ache of sympathy for Kara. Her heart was so big, and her need to fix everything was a huge part of that.

"Kara, you can't take that on yourself. A lot of people discover their sexuality later in life." She didn't add that she'd been about Alex's age the first time she'd developed feelings for a woman.

"I know," Kara said, giving a little huff, and a small stomp of her foot that caused Cat's desk to shake. "But ever since I landed, Alex's life has been about me. Taking care of me, helping me hide, then helping me be Supergirl. We used to sit until all hours, talking to each other, but when I think back, we were always talking about me. My secrets, my feelings, my grief."

"Maybe if I'd made time for her, talked about her, how she was feeling, it wouldn't have taken her so long to figure this out. Maybe her life would have been better, been easier, or happier. I can't help but feel like I took that away from her."

Cat got up out of her chair, and walked around her desk. She took Kara's hands in her own, and squeezed then tightly. "You have such a big heart, Kara. You love people so much, and it makes you want to fix everything. But you can't go back and fix mistakes you made ten years ago. God knows, if you could, I'd have probably lived my life five times over by now. But, what you can do, is do better. You can make it up to your sister by being the best, most supportive sister you can be now."

Kara looked up at Cat, her face a mixture of guilt and hope. "You think that will be enough?"

"I do," Cat said. "But, I think the most important thing is to not make this about you. It has to be about your sister. About being there for her, and helping her when she needs you."

"Thank you, Cat," Kara said. Then, in an entirely predictable fashion that Cat wouldn't change for the world, Kara stood up and hugged her, and Cat hugged her back, as tightly as she could.

"Take the rest of the day," Cat said. "Go find your sister, and make things right."

"Really?" Kara asked.

"Really," Cat said. Kara turned and started towards the door, but Cat couldn't let her get away quite that easily. "Oh, and Kara," she said.

Kara turned around, smiling at her once again. "Yes?"

"Once it's okay with your sister, I expect a feature on this. 'How To Support Your Loved Ones When They Come Out' by Kara Danvers."

"Oh," Kara said, her smile turning into a teasing grin. "I see how it is. You're not giving me the day off to help my sister. You're sending me on assignment."

"The two are not mutually exclusive," Cat said, making a little shooing motion with her hand. "Now, run along."

Kara turned away, but somehow, Cat knew without having to see her face that she didn't stop smiling the whole way back to her office.

* * *

Author's Note: One of my biggest disappointments of season two is that we didn't get a scene where Cat helped Kara process her feelings about Alex's coming out. I hope I've done it justice here.


	8. Disaster

Author's Note: The Kryptonian in this chapter has been revised because my original translation was off. The new text is correct.

* * *

Cat sat at her desk, making her minions nervous because she hadn't stopped smiling all morning. She hadn't even tried, if she were honest. She just kept watching and rewatching the Supergirl footage from the night before. The camera angles were absolutely perfect. They caught the moment Lobo had started on some hideously cliché monologue and the moment Kara had rolled her eyes and cut him off by snatching up a manhole cover and tossing it like a frisbee. The look of utter shock on his face right before it folded him in half was classic.

As fights went, it was ridiculously one sided. She knocked him down and kept him down until she managed to tie him up with his own chain. Some people might have questioned the fact that she attacked first, but not anyone who'd seen what Lobo had done to Metropolis the few times he and Superman had it out.

It left Cat feeling an overwhelming sense of pride. That was Kara, her Kara, out there doing what even Superman couldn't do. Oh, she knew she shouldn't be thinking of Kara as 'hers' but that had started a long time ago, and she'd almost given up on trying to fight it. She knew that was dangerous, that it would make the inevitable day Kara did find someone that much harder, but that day wasn't today. Today, she could nurture that warm glow of pride that came from knowing that the woman she cared for so deeply was every bit as amazing as Cat thought she was.

She kept smiling right up until the moment she felt the change in the atmosphere in the bullpen. She looked up from the work she was only half paying attention to and was shocked to see Clark Kent striding into the bullpen like he owned the place. There was a time when seeing him would have made her excited and more than a little nervous. She's always adored Clark for a lot of the same reasons she loved Kara. He was kind, sincere, and seemed to move through the world with boundless optimism.

Finding out he was Superman rubbed a bit of the shine off though. For whatever reason, Superman had never been the inspiration to her that Supergirl was. Probably because he'd appeared on the scene not long after she and Lois had broken up, and Lois' obvious infatuation had stirred up all kinds of jealousy. But today his presence was tripping all kinds of alarm bells that had nothing to do with her unresolved feelings towards Lois Lane.

Almost as if on queue James entered the bullpen, meeting Clark near where the new computer troll sat, though far enough away that the new troll probably couldn't hear them talking. It was enough to make Cat's suspicious mind go into overdrive. She reached for her computer and sent a quick message to Kara.

'Clark Kent is in the bullpen.' She hit send, and glanced back up, watching as Clark and James talked.

'Right now?' Kara sent back. 'No, never mind. I see him. OMW.'

Cat sighed, wishing the girl had an ounce of patience. If Kara had a flaw, it was her need to act *now*, which often kept her from thinking. Cat stood up, circling her desk quickly, and walking out of her office.

"Clark!" she said, forcing cheerfulness she didn't feel into her voice. "As I live and breath. My, don't you look all Midwestern dashing?"

"Ms. Grant, it's been a long time," Clark replied, turning from his conversation with James, and giving her a smile that at one time probably would have made her drool.

"Well, you decided to settle for the lesser Lane sister," Cat said. "And we all know how Lois is when there's even a bit of competition in the room."

"Vicious," Clark said, still smiling. "she sends her best, by the way."

"Oh? Well, tell her I said that piece on corruption in Suicide Slums almost counted as journalism."

"That's pretty high praise from Cat," Kara said as she approached. "Tell Lois she should feel flattered."

"Hey, Kara," Clark said.

Kara held out her arms. "Come here, you," she said as Clark stepped into the hug. Cat watched, a small smile touching her lips because of how hard Kara was smiling, even though she couldn't shake the impending sense of dread.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in town?" Kara asked as she let go and stepped back.

"Oh, it's just a short layover on my way back from an assignment," Clark said. "I actually wanted to have a quick word with you, if you have a minute."

"Sure," Kara said.

"Why don't you use the balcony," Cat said, hoping to keep Kara from inviting Clark back to her office. "It's empty right now."

Kara gave her a slightly puzzled look for a moment, then turned back to Clark. "Come on," she said, and lead him towards the public balcony. Cat watched them go, wanting more than anything to follow, because everything about this felt off. When she glanced at James' face, the knot that had been building in her stomach only seemed to get heavier. He had that self-satisfied look people always wore right before they trotted out an 'I told you so.'

"I didn't know Kara knew Clark," Cat said to James as she turned her attention back to the two of them.

"They go way back," James said.

"Really?" Cat asked. "How'd they meet?"

"Uh," James stammered. "Clark knows her foster parents."

The conversation between Kara and Clark, whatever it was about, wasn't going well. It had turned south almost immediately, and Cat wasn't even sure you could call it a conversation. Clark was the only one talking, and the more he talked, the less happy Kara looked, until, by the time he finished talking, Kara looked more angry that Cat had ever seen her.

Afterwards, Cat could never quite pinpoint what made her spot the looming disaster, but she would always blame James for it. She's started towards the balcony, and James had stepped in front of her.

"I think we should let them talk," James said.

Cat just stared at him as he stood there, patronizing look on his face, and gave him the glare she usually reserved for just before she stepped on someone. It had the desired effect. He took a step back. It was almost involuntary, but it did create enough room for Cat to slip past him and head for the balcony door. If not for the delay, she might have even gotten there in time.

Instead, Kara finished saying whatever it was she had to say in response to Clark, and Cat watched helplessly as Clark replied. Cat's hand had just closed around the balcony door's handle when Kara swung her right hand, and the sound of the slap carried right through the glass and filled the bullpen as Clark's hand snapped to the side and his glasses went flying over the balcony railing.

Cat jerked the door open and stepped out onto the balcony, James only a step behind her. She went straight for Kara, who stood there in shock, a look of horror on her face. Cat caught Kara's upraised hand in her own, and slipped her arm around Kara, turning her away from Clark. She looked up, letting the man she'd once nursed a crush on see the absolute fury on her face, even as she noted the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Get out of my building," Cat snapped. Clark started to say something, but Cat cut him off. "Now!" she said. Clark and James both recoiled in surprise, but neither of them said a word. Clark just turned and headed for the door. James had the good sense to follow him.

She stood there, holding Kara, feeling the girl struggling to hold herself together, until she was sure Olsen and Kent had time to reach the elevators and leave, then she stepped back so she could look Kara in the face.

"Are you okay to get to your office?"

Kara didn't say anything. She just nodded. Cat slipped an arm around her again and started leading her towards the door. When it opened, she was surprised to find the bullpen empty except for Eve, who stood there was a mildly terrified look on her face.

"Can I help, Miss Grant?" she asked.

"Alex Danvers," Cat said. "Her number is in my contacts. Call her and tell her exactly what happened." Eve nodded and headed for her desk to pull up Cat's contact list, and Cat made a note to thank her for her quick thinking later as she lead Kara towards her office.

Once there, she steered Kara to the sofa, and left her there for a moment while she dug through Kara's desk for a couple of Hand Sanitizing wipes, which she used to carefully clean Clark's blood off Kara's hand. Kara, for her part, put up no resistance. She just sat there, with a look of shock on her face as Cat cleaned her up. Once that was done, Cat sat down next to her, wrapped her arms around Kara, and pulled the younger woman against her. Kara shifted slightly, resting her head on Cat's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?" Cat asked.

"I broke your rules," Kara said. "No getting mad at work and no crying."

"Fuck my rules," Cat said.

Kara let out a miserable laugh and slipped her arms around Cat's waist.

"What did he say to you?"

"Doesn't matter," Kara said. "I shouldn't have hit him. I'm supposed to protect him."

"Kara, please, what did he say?"

Kara let out a sigh. "He said I destroyed the last hope for Krypton."

Cat frowned as she reached up to stroke Kara's hair. "I thought Krypton was gone," she said.

"It is," Kara said, "But there are other survivors. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Do you know who Brainiac is?" Kara asked.

"Green man, three glowing lights in his forehead. Shows up every couple of years and attacks Metropolis until your cousin runs him off."

Cat felt Kara nodded against her shoulder. "Yeah. That's him. Brainiac One. He's a Coluan. A race that's so mixed up with technology they are more software than biology. He used to be the Cyber-administrator for the Kryptonian City of Kandor, but somewhere along the way, he went insane. He built a massive ship and about ten years before I was born, he used it to shrink the city of Kandor down in a self-sustaining quantum compression field. The entire city was reduced to the size of a dinner plate and locked in suspended animation. Almost a twenty million of my people."

Kara's words echoed through Cat's head. Twenty million of Krypton's people had survived? It didn't make sense at all. She knew how much Kara loved her home world, and if there was even a piece of it left, she didn't understand why Kara was here, with her, and not out there trying to find it.

"Kal-El keeps it in his Fortress. He stole it and a lot of other cities Brainiac had shrunk the first time they fought. When I first found out, I was so excited. Kandor was a legend by the time I was born. Like Atlantis. My Father took me to see the crater once. Just the idea that so many of our people were alive, and I might get some piece of home back. But Kal-El has been trying for thirteen years, and he's never been able to restore one of the cities."

"He came to see me one night, the summer before I left for college. He'd captured one of Brainiac's probe ships, but he told me that the drone in command of the ship had told him that the compression process was irreversible. That there was no way to save Kandor."

"We talked about it for hours. Kal-El just couldn't let it go. I don't know. I think it was easier for me, because even when I was excited about it, it never seemed real. Maybe it's because I grew up with the story, but Kandor was always some fairy tale city. Maybe it's because I saw Krypton die. As much as it hurt, I could accept it. Not Kal. He never stopped trying to find a way to reverse the compression beam."

"Then Doomsday showed up." Kara let out a sigh and shifted a little closer to Cat. "Doomsday showed up, and I wasn't sure I could fight it and win. I know Kal-El did it, but it was so close. If I'd failed, no one could protect you, Carter, Winn or Eliza. If I failed, Alex and J'onn and everybody I know at the DEO would die fighting it. I thought about the fact that it would eventually find the Fortress, because it will seek out anything Kryptonian. All the last scraps of our home that Kal-El had managed to scrounge over the years would be destroyed, and all the things he hides there to protect Earth from them would be set free."

"That's how I got the idea. I went to the Fortress while my friends kept it occupied. I stripped the compression system from Brainiac's probe ship, and I used it to bottle Doomsday the way Brainiac bottled Kandor. And then, I got in that pod, the one I spent more than two decades trapped in. I flew it out into the dark, to a small black hole a few dozen lightyears away, and I tossed the compression device into it with Doomsday still inside."

"I gave up any hope of resurrecting the ghost of Kandor to protect living, breathing people. I thought I was okay with that, but what if I made the wrong decision? What if he's right, and I threw away my people's chance for a future? I mean, Kal's not a scientist. Maybe we just needed to get someone like Alex or Winn or Lena involved."

Cat reached up and ran her hand softly over Kara's hair. "None of that," Cat said. "You made the only decision you could. You chose to help the thirteen million people who were in danger that day in National City. Kandor… They've already waited sixty years. If time has really stopped for them, they can wait another sixty."  
Cat felt Kara relax as the girl let out a sigh.

"Thank you," Kara said. "You always seem to know what to say to make me feel better."

"I'm just returning the favor," Cat said. "You make me feel better, just by being there."

Kara shifted, pulling away from Cat and sitting up. "You really mean that?" Kara asked.

"Have you ever known me to say anything I didn't mean?" Cat asked.

"Yes," Kara said. "I know for a fact that you like my sleeveless dresses. You tell me they're hideous every time I wear one, but I always see you forcing yourself not to smile."

"It's distracting," Cat said, trying desperately not to think about Kara in that yellow sleeveless dress she'd been wearing the day Barry Allen had shown up. Or the pink ribbed one. Or anything without sleeves really. Because Kara's arms did things for Cat that none of her husbands had managed in any of her four marriages.

Kara's eyes dropped down to Cat's chest for a moment, then she looked up at Cat's face.

"Your heart is racing," she said. Cat could hear the confusion in her voice, and saw the moment realization settled in. Watched as Kara's eyes got wide, and her lips formed a silent 'oh'.

Cat felt her face heating up as she blushed furiously and hated herself for it. She hated everything about this situation, but especially how exposed she felt. She pulled away from Kara, standing up, and straightening her dress.

"I should get back to my office before half the building decides to take the rest of the day off," Cat said as she started for the door.

"Wait," Kara said.

Cat sighed and turned around, only to find herself face to face with Kara, who was very definitely in her personal space. It was a moment Cat and dreamed of and dreaded. The moment when Kara realized that what Cat felt was more than just friendship and admiration. The moment Cat's dreams of a happy future she had no business wanting came crashing down around her.

Except Kara moved closer. She reached up and ever so slowly tucked a strand of hair behind Cat's ear.

" khuhp w voiehd im ;zuhne non w udolkhehdia gahv shahrrehth im/" Kara whispered, the words so soft Cat barely heard them. "/.:zhao w rraop .:zhaoes zhindif w rraop/"

Cat didn't know what Kara was saying, but the look on Kara's face told her what was coming next. She couldn't bring herself to stop it, no matter how much she knew she should. She didn't want it to be like this. She didn't want Kara to kiss her in a moment of weakness, didn't want to take advantage of her, but she couldn't seem to move as Kara reached up and cupped her face in both hands. She just watched as Kara's tongue peeked out, wetting her lips before she started to lean forward.

The knock on the door was both a blessing and a curse. Cat decided, as Kara let go of her face, that she was going to give whoever was knocking an enormous thank you, right before she killed them.

"It's Alex," Kara squeaked.

Cat took a deep breath and reached down, taking Kara's hand and squeezing it, before stepping away and turning around.

"Come in," she called. The door opened, and Eve stood there with a very worried looking Alex Danvers standing right behind her. Cat turned back to Kara. "I'll let you two talk," She said, before starting towards the door.

"Thank you for letting me know," Alex said.

"Of course," Cat said. "Take good care of her."

"Always," Alex said.

Cat left the office with Eve following close on her heals.


	9. Come To Jesus Jimmy Olsen

When Cat returned to the bullpen it was full again and no one was looking at her in pretty much the same way no one looked at her first thing Monday morning. That was probably wise, considering she was absolutely in the mood to come down on someone like the hammer of God. Part of her really wanted to turn around, go back to Kara's office, chuck Alex out on her ass and kiss Kara senseless. The other part of her, the rational part, was furious at herself for the line she'd almost crossed. Kara has been upset and vulnerable, and Cat had almost taken advantage of that. For making the same mistake she'd made once before. She wasn't sure she'd ever forgive herself for.

She and Kara definitely needed to have a talk about what happened, but only once they both had a chance to let their emotions settle. Something that wasn't likely to happen unless Cat took action on another front.

"Close the door," Cat said to Eve as Eve followed her into the office.

"Yes, Miss Grant," Eve said. "Um… do you want me inside, or outside when I do?'

Cat turned around, fully intending to deliver an absolutely scathing remark, right up until she remembered the empty bullpen when she'd lead Kara through. Instead, she swallowed the comment, because while Eve might not be Kara, she *was* good at her job, and because Eve had done nothing wrong and a lot right.

"Inside, please," Cat said before walking around and sitting at her desk.

Eve closed the door, then came back and stood in front of Cat's desk, notepad at the ready.

"First, I want you to call security. Clark Kent is banned from the building until further notice. I want a hard copy of his picture posted at all four visitors sign in stations, as well as in the security monitoring station on the twentieth floor. I also want instructions posted that he is to be asked to leave once, and if he does not comply, the police *and* FBI Special Agent Alex Danvers are to be called immediately and a formal complaint is to be filed even if he leaves before the police arrive. If he's still here when the police arrive, I want him arrested for trespassing."

"Second, I want you go down to HR, and have them call someone down from legal. I want three sets of paperwork prepared on James Olsen. The first set is a formal complaint for grossly unprofessional conduct with a two-week suspension without pay. The second set is a formal charge of harassment following the termination of a romantic relationship, along with an at fault termination packet. The third is a contract buy out at one hundred percent value. I want myself listed as the complaining party on the first set of paperwork, and Kara Danvers listed as the complaining party on the second set of paperwork. Tell legal I also want them to draw up a self defense incident report, with Clark Kent listed as the aggressing party, and Kara Danvers listed as the person being attacked. Tell them I want the paperwork prepared, but not filed. Once all three packets on Olsen are finished, I want them delivered to me, then I want you to find Olsen and tell him I want to see him."

"Yes, Miss Grant. Anything else?"

"Yes," Cat said. "Do you know Alison Mercer in HR?"

"Yes," Eve said.

"Speak with her alone. Make sure no one overhears you. Tell her I want her to fill out a packet twenty-seven with today's date and sent to my office. She'll ask you for names. Give her mine and Kara Danvers. Speak of this to no one else, and once it's done, forget it ever happened."

"Yes, Miss Grant."

"Also, clear my entire schedule for tomorrow, then put down a meeting with Kara form 10:00 AM until noon. See that Snapper is informed that she'll be unavailable during that time. Tell him that if he has a problem with it, he can call Vicki Vale and offer her his job."

"Yes, Miss Grant. Anything else?"

"That's all," Cat said. "Close the door as you leave."

Eve nodded and turned, heading for the door while Cat leaned back and took a deep breath, considering what she'd just done. Alison Mercer was the head of enforcement for the CatCo Code of Conduct. Her entire job was to make sure that every employee in the building lived up to the exacting standards Cat had set down when she'd founded CatCo, and one of those standards was that Cat Grant was absolutely not going to sit around and allow any executive to force themselves on an underling. No one other than Cat or Alison in the building would have any idea what a "packet twenty-seven" was, because that wasn't the official designation for the packet of paperwork. The official name was "Order for the Termination of a Board Reporting Employee for Inappropriate Sexual Advances Towards a Subordinate."

Under under the terms of the CatCo Company Charter, the Board was required to investigate the allegations contained in a packet twenty-seven, and if the allegations were confirmed, the board had no choice but to remove the employee in question from their position. The employee would also forfeit all outstanding stock options, all CatCo 401K matching contributions, their pension and severance package, and under the terms of all board reporting contracts, would be required to sell all shares of CatCo back to the board at eighty percent of current market value.

The fact that Cat had requested the filed the paperwork be prepared herself would be a de facto confession, meaning there wouldn't even be an investigation. If she told Alison to file those papers, she wouldn't finish out the day.

It wouldn't ruin her. Not financially. Even without her CatCo stock Cat was a billionaire ten times over. The trust funds for Carter and Adam were already established, so even if she was bankrupted by the nearly inevitable lawsuits, her sons would be taken care of. It would absolutely destroy her legacy though. Everything she'd ever said about protecting women in the workplace would instantly become a joke, undermined by her own hypocrisy. But she absolutely could not call James Olsen out for his bad behavior if she wasn't willing to own up to her own.

However, she had other things to take care of first.

She picked up her cell phone, scrolled down to the contact marked 'Lesser Lane', and hit send.

"Hey, Cat," Lois said when she picked up. "How's the Evil Queen business treating you?"

"Not good," Cat said. "One of my reporters just slapped a reporter from another paper so hard it drew blood. It's a mess. One of my department heads was involved. My reporter has a pretty good case for self-defense, as well as a case for harassment against the department head in question, but this has the potential to turn into a complete shitstorm if the other reporter or the department head decide to make a stink, or someone talks to the press."

"Um, Cat, I know you don't think much of my reporting skills, but you do remember I *am* a member of the press, right?" Lois asked.

"Unfortunately, that's not something I can really forget, no matter how much scotch I consume. I just thought you might like a head's up as to why your boyfriend has a split lip and a hand shaped bruise on his face."

"WHAT?" Lois screamed.

"Oh, keep it down. But you might want to let him know he's banned from the building, and the security guards have instructions to have him arrested for trespassing if he shows up here again."

"Cat, who the hell hit Clark?" Lois asked.

"Kara Danvers," Cat said. "I don't know what the hell your farm boy was thinking, but what he said to her… It was bad, Lois. And Olsen was right in the middle of it."

"Jesus fucking Christ on a crutch," Lois said. "What the hell did James do?"

"Ask him yourself," Cat said. "Mr. Olsen is about to find himself with an abundance of free time."

"You're firing him?" Lois asked.

"I'd like too," Cat said. "But I'm going to leave the final decision up to Kara."

"That's not like you, Cat. What's really going on?" Lois asked.

Cat let out a sigh. "What's going on is James Olsen is an outstanding art director, one of the most talented photo journalists in the world and would very likely have succeeded me as CEO of CatCo Worldwide media. Except the way he treated your sister made one of the most talented lawyers I've ever seen walk away from a seven figure salary after three months, and he seems completely incapable of processing the idea that Kara isn't just your farm boy in a skirt."

"Wait, what?"

"James and Clark are both unhappy with a decision Kara made during the Doomsday event a couple of weeks ago."

There was silence on the line for nearly two minutes, before Lois spoke again.

"You know, don't you?" Lois asked.

"Yes," Cat said. "It took me about two months to figure it out. Which is an embarrassingly long time, I admit."

"It took me two fucking years," Lois said.

"Well, yes, but I that's you," Cat said.

"Kara really hit him?" Lois asked.

"Yes," Cat said. "I saw it coming. I tried to stop it, but James got in my way."

"I'll talk to Clark. But Cat, banning him from the building…"

"Lois, if you know who Kara is, you know what she's been through," Cat said.

"Yeah, I do," Lois said.

"Then you'll understand why when you hear what he said. Well, assuming he has the good sense to leave town before Alex Danvers or J'onn J'onzz catch him. If he doesn't, well, I could probably get you Aquaman's phone number."

"I'll call him and suggest he come home," Lois said. "Thanks for the head's up."

"You might want to talk to Perry about getting James his old job back," Cat said. "If Kara wants James gone, I'm going to revoke his National City privileges."

"That's low, Cat, even… No, you know what, I'm going to wait until I know what's going on before I open my mouth, because honestly, I'm still pissed at James for what went down with Lucy."

"Good choice," Cat said.

"Yeah. Thanks for ruining my day, by the way."

"Always a pleasure," Cat said, then she lowered her phone and hit the end call button.

* * *

"You wanted to see me?" James said as he came to a stop in front of her desk.

"Have a seat, Mr. Olsen," Cat said.

"I figured you'd want me standing for this," he said as he lowered himself into one of the chairs opposite her.

"Oh, I think we're well past theatrics and power games," Cat said. "You see, James, I *hate* repeating myself. I really do. So, I'm going to keep this short. Your behavior is unacceptable. Kara asked you not to bring your personal issues into the work place. You ignored her wishes and tried to pressure her into a conversation she did not want to have. You created a scene which could have embarrassed her personally and professionally had I not intervened. Then, today, you and Kent brought an outside issue into Kara's place of work, created a public spectacle which I can only assume hasn't found its way onto TMZ and Buzzfeed because everyone out there in the bullpen loves Kara. A spectacle which could have been avoided if you hadn't kept me from interfering when the initial disagreement began to escalate."

"You're going to blame me for that?" James asked with a look of disbelief on his face. "You're the one who insisted they talk on the balcony."

"Not helping your case," Cat said. "I knew the entire situation was trouble the moment I saw you and Kent talking. I wanted the situation where I could keep an eye on it, and if you hadn't gotten in my way, I might have been able to stop the argument from escalating to the point where Kara felt that a physical response was necessary."

"Necessary? You think Kara hitting Clark was necessary?"

"What I think is irrelevant," Cat said. "Kara obviously did."

James shook his head. "You don't have any idea what that conversation was about."

Cat stepped on the impulse to tell James she knew exactly what the conversation was about, because no matter how badly she'd screwed up today, she was not going to violate Kara's confidence.

"I didn't need to," Cat said. "If Kara reacted that way to something Clark said, then I know he crossed a line because I know Kara."

"Not as well as you'd like to," James muttered.

Cat just raised one eyebrow as she stared at James and waited. It took a couple of seconds for him to realize what he'd said, and Cat, for all the effort she was making to keep the meeting civil, relished the look of panic on his face.

"Are you done, Mr. Olsen?" she asked in a tone slightly colder than Kara's freeze breath.

"Miss Grant, I didn't mean-"

"Don't insult me," Cat said. "You meant it. In fact, it's probably the most honest thing you've said since you walked in here. So, let me be equally honest. When you arrived at CatCo I had a lot of respect for you and very high expectations. I hired you with the express purpose of slotting you into the succession plan for when I eventually retired. But I began to question that decision when I saw the way you reacted to me hiring Lucy Lane. She was an amazingly competent woman who would have been a tremendous asset to CatCo had your behavior not driven her away. And now, your behavior is creating problems for an absolutely astonishing young woman who has a tremendous amount of potential. Your behavior. Your inability to accept the validity of Kara's choices and feelings, on top of your insistence on trying to push her into being something she doesn't want to be."

"You are really going to sit there and lecture me on how to treat Kara?" James asked. "Really?"

"Oh, Mr. Olsen, I admit, I'm the last person who should be lecturing anyone on how they should treat Kara. And yet, here we are. Again."

"Now, fortunately for you, Mr. Olsen, today does not involve an angry Kryptonian on space drugs tossing you off a forty-story building, but make no mistake, this *is* your come to Jesus moment. The only reason you still currently have a job is that Kara has not filed a formal complaint." Cat reached down and opened the file drawer in her desk and pulled out three manila envelopes. She sat two on her desk and held the third one up.

"This is your for-cause termination packet. All it needs is Kara's signature on a harassment complaint. One I will offer her the chance to sign tomorrow." She returned the termination packet to her desk drawer.

"Now, Kara is the forgiving type. She always sees the best in people, and wants to believe they can change, that they can do better. So, I know the chances of her *ever* signing that harassment complaint are close to zero. I also know that if I fire you because of this, she will be eaten alive by the guilt. Which is why I had these prepared." Cat slid the other two envelopes cross her desk to James.

"One of those is a contract buy out at one hundred percent of the value of your remaining contract. The other is a two-week suspension without pay and a formal letter of reprimand for your personnel file. You can walk away from CatCo today, with three years and nine months' worth of pay, a cash bonus equal to the current value of your stock options, and a clean personnel file, or you can spend two weeks on unpaid leave getting your head on straight, then come back here and act like you have some concept of how to conduct yourself in the work place. But, if you decide not to take the buyout, and I'm wrong about how forgiving Kara is, you will walk away with nothing. But if you decide to stay, that letter of reprimand will go in your file, and if there is *ever* another incident, I won't need Kara's cooperation to fire you for cause."

James stared at her for a moment, and Cat could see the absolute fury in his eyes as he reached for a pen. He picked up the packet with the suspension paperwork, opened it and signed in four separate places before shoving the paperwork back across the desk.

"Two things before you go," Cat said. "First, I had Miss Teschmacher book you on a red eye to Metropolis. You'll find the ticket details in your personal email. I think a break from National City would help you get some perspective."

James just sat there, staring at her.

"Second, if I ever catch wind of you dating another CatCo employee, I don't care how upset Kara gets. I *will* fire you on the spot. I told you before, twice is dangerously close to becoming a pattern of behavior. I will not put up with your bullshit a third time."

"Now, get out of my office."


	10. Seeing Light

Author's Note:

The Kryptonian I'm using in this story is Doyle Kryptonian, a reference for which can be found . I had been working mostly on my own to do the translations for this and for The Shape of Things to Come, but finally broke down and asked for some help from the language creator. As a result, the Kryptonian in Chapter 8 has been revised to reflect a more accurate translation (and to match what's in this chapter). I am delighted by the results, and I hope you will be delighted by the English translation of the Kryptonian phrases.

* * *

Cat sat on the couch in her office, staring out at her empire, and wondering if it was all about to come crumbling down around her. It was almost ten o'clock. Almost time for her meeting with Kara. Almost time to give up on the beautiful, unworkable wish her heart had made.

God, she sounded like a Disney film.

She needed to get her head on straight. Well, maybe that was a poor choice of words, considering. Get her act together. That was better. She needed to stop day dreaming about something she couldn't have. Kara was better than her. She was a hero, and always had been. Cat was an old woman with an inappropriate crush, having a midlife crisis and relieving the worst mistake of her youth at the same time. She was imagining a twenty-five-year-old Superhero would want to be with a woman twice her age, practically if not chronologically. A woman with a teenage son, and another son that said Superhero had dated, however briefly.

There weren't going to be any family vacations. The trip to Disney would just be her and Carter, and that would be fine. She'd go, and she'd have a wonderful time with her son. It would give her a chance to get distance and perspective. Maybe during the summer, she and Carter could tour all the CatCo offices around the world. Check up on the empire.

Assuming it was still hers.

Assuming Kara was willing to forgive her for the line she'd crossed. The line she'd crossed once before, when Lois Lane had been crying on her shoulder in a Metropolis apartment twenty-six years ago.

She spotted Kara, heading her way wearing a smile that lit up the room. And of course, she was carrying a coffee tray and a Noonan's bag, because she's Kara. Cat's heart jumped at the sight, and butterflies she was too old to have in her stomach started dancing as Kara pushed open the door and stepped inside.

"Good morning," Kara said, so happy it made Cat wish she could hide both the packets of paperwork on the coffee table, and just spend the entire day basking in the warm glow of Kara.

"Have a seat," she said, said, gesturing to the couch across from her.

Kara took a seat across from her and spent the next couple of minutes laying out breakfast for both of them. Or, if Cat knew Kara, breakfast for Cat, and second, or probably third breakfast for Kara. She smiled when Kara checked to make sure no one was looking before zapping Cat's coffee with her heat vision. Cat took the Latte, and they ate in silence. Cat knew she was just postponing the inevitable, but she took the time to enjoy one last moment in the sun before the storm came.

"So, what did you want to see me about?" Kara asked as she started clearing away the remains of their breakfast. "I saw the appointment invite, but it didn't have any details."

"We need to talk about what happened yesterday," Cat said.

"Oh," Kara said, her smile faltering just a little. "Cat, I'm sorry. I know I've brought my problems to-"

"No," Cat said. "No, Kara, you didn't do anything wrong." She took a deep breath. "Other people behaved inappropriately."

"Clark was just upset," Kara said.

"Kara," Cat said, her voice firm. "What Clark did was inexcusable. No one should ever talk to you like that. It was wrong when Clark did it, it was wrong when James did it, and it was wrong when I did it."

"Cat?" Kara asked, confusion written on her face.

"I know I treated you horribly," she said. "And I could offer you any number of excuses. I want to. But any excuse I offer would be just that. I treated you terribly, and I never apologized for it. What happened yesterday brought that into focus for me. So, before we go any further, I want to offer you my sincere apology. I am sorry for punishing you when you did nothing wrong. I am sorry for taking out my hurt, anger, grief and wounded pride on you. I'm sorry I hired Siobhan. And I know I don't deserve it, but I hope you can forgive me for it."

"Cat," Kara said, "I tried to kill you, and you forgave me for it the next time we saw each other. How could I not forgive you?"

"When you did that, you weren't yourself. You weren't responsible for your actions. You said it yourself. Your mind was altered. What I did, I did while in full control of my faculties. I didn't forgive you, Kara, because there was nothing to forgive. You have always done what you believed was best, and you have made my life better in so many ways that I don't even know how to thank you."

"If you need to hear me say it, then I forgive you, Cat."

Cat forced herself to smile as she blinked back tears.

"Okay," Cat said. She took a deep breath. "I took steps to address Clark's actions. He's banned from the building, until you say otherwise. I would ask if you'd like me to call Perry White and have him terminated, or at the very least, have his press credentials revoked, but I already know your answer, so I addressed the matter through a different channel."

"Cat," Kara said, "he's my cousin. I'm supposed to protect him."

"He is a grown man, who should know better," Cat said. "If you had done that to him, your career would be finished. Perry White would absolutely destroy you. I know you feel responsible for him, but even if you're willing to let it pass, I care too much about you to do the same. And as much as I hate to admit it, I care too much about Lois to let it pass, either. Because if someone doesn't call him out on it now, he'll do the same thing to her, eventually, and I know Lois well enough to know that if he ever did that to her, it would end what they have."

She watched Kara consider her words, before giving a small nod.

"Okay," she said. "Should I ask what you did?"

"No," Cat said. "I took the steps necessary to make sure he understood just how badly he messed up. I took the legal steps necessary to protect you, should he decide to make an issue out of you hitting him. As long as he doesn't, I will consider the matter closed. When you feel comfortable with it, tell me, and I'll lift the ban on him entering the building."

Kara smiled. "I think we can make him sweat a little on that one," she said.

"Oh, if I were Clark Kent, I'd be more worried about Alex Danvers and J'onn J'onzz," Cat said.

Kara paled slightly. "Oh, no," she said. "I didn't even think about that."

"I know, Dear, and that's one of the most charming things about you. You're so busy thinking of everyone else that you don't even know how many people are would light the entire world on fire just to keep you warm. Which, now that I think about it, is probably not the best metaphor I could have used."

Kara smiled, laughing just a little. "It's okay," she said. "I know what you meant."

Cat nodded and reached for the first of the two envelopes. "Since Clark is not my employee, I had the luxury of dealing with him through unofficial channels," Cat said. "When it comes to James, I'm not so lucky. I tried, not so long after your unpleasant phase, to correct James' behavior. I tried again the other day when he was in your office. He has consistently ignored unofficial suggestions that he amend his attitude. Yesterday, he prevented me from intervening between you and Clark when I realized the situation was escalating. If he hadn't, it's unlikely the situation would have developed to the point of a physical altercation."

"Cat-"

"No, Kara, I'm sorry. I know you're going to feel guilty whatever happens here, but I gave James a choice. I offered to buy out his contract at one-hundred percent of its value, or to accept a two-week suspension without pay and a formal letter of reprimand. He chose the suspension and letter of reprimand. I want to stress that you should not feel guilty about this. James brought this entirely on himself. The fact that the two of you have personal issues is irrelevant. James chose to bring personal issues into the office. He chose to take actions which interfered with one employee's ability to do their job, and caused another employee to leave CatCo altogether. James is entirely to blame for this."

"That said, the contents of this envelope are an at fault termination packet for James Olsen. It is complete and ready to go. The only thing required to make it official is your signature on the harassment complaint. If you sign it, James Olsen will no longer be employed by CatCo World Wide Media. I would prefer you sign it, because I would very much like to terminate James Olsen's employment. I also recognize that I am not by any measure unbiased in this situation. He hurt you. I care about you, and I am viciously protective of people I care about."

"Cat, I can't…" Kara said.

"I know," Cat said. "I knew before I had the paperwork drawn up, but I had to make the offer."

"Because you would have for anyone else," Kara said.

Cat nodded. "Exactly," she said. "This will be in my drawer in case you change your mind. You have one year to file a claim."

Kara nodded. "I won't change my mind," she said.

Cat nodded, acknowledging what she already knew. She laid the first envelope down and picked up the second.

"The thing is, I can't address James Olsen's behavior without addressing my own," Cat said. She held out the envelope to Kara. "I'd say it's all here, but I think we both know I can't put half of the things I've done to you in there, either because I don't remember them, or because they would expose you as Supergirl."

Kara looked down at the envelope in confusion, then lifted her eyes back up to look at Cat. "What is this?" she asked.

"It's a formal complaint against me. I've included list of… Well, not every time I mistreated you, but more than enough. Calling you by the wrong name for two years. Inappropriate threats of termination. The entire incident with Siobhan. It's necessarily vague in certain places, but it's in my own hand, signed and witnessed by Alison Mercer from HR. A confession of my sins, up to and including what happened in your office yesterday."

"What do you mean, what happened in my office?" Kara asked, her voice rising a bit.

Cat sat the envelope down and let out a sigh, steadying herself. "Kara, what I did in your office yesterday was unthinkable. You were hurt and vulnerable, and I took advantage. I'm not proud of it, but it's happened before. Someone came to me for comfort after they'd been betrayed by someone they trusted, and instead of comforting them and caring for them, I let my own feelings run wild, and nearly destroyed both of us. I thought I'd learned that lesson, but apparently not."

"Cat-" Kara said.

"I know my feelings for you are inappropriate," Cat said, rolling right over Kara's attempt to interrupt her. "I understand that you don't feel the same way. Why would you want me? I have nothing to offer you. I'm old enough, I'm emotionally stunted, I come with a son your age and another who's a teenager. I've treated your dreadfully. I've tried to blackmail you into revealing your identity, and when that failed, I threw a hissy fit and hired Siobhan to punish you."

"That's why you hired her?" Kara demanded in red faced anger.

"You didn't really think any of that was about Adam, did you?" Cat asked.

"YES!" Kara said.

Cat closed her eyes and shook her head. "Kara, I love you, but you are the worst liar in the world," she said. She looked over at Kara, who was sitting there absolutely dumbstruck. "Your shapeshifting friend fooled me for a couple of weeks. But then you stood in my office and pointed out that it was entirely possible that there was a Supergirl imposter, and I realized what happened. I didn't sort out all the details until your venture into poor anger management, but I got the gist of it when Bizzaro showed up. I was hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth. Especially the day you went missing and J'onn pretended to be you."

"You love me?" Kara asked, her voice small and soft.

Cat froze as she realized what she'd said, not sure whether she was more surprised to find it was true, or that she'd actually said it out loud.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have said that. After yesterday, I wouldn't blame you if you hate me."

"I don't understand what you're talking about," Kara said. "You said you took advantage of me, but you didn't. All you did is protect me and take care of me, like you always do."

"I did!" Cat said. "You were hurt and vulnerable and I should have been comforting you, but instead, spilled my own stupid feelings out. Then when you tried to kiss me, instead of stopping you like I should have, I just stood there and let you. I didn't protect you. I was too busy indulging my own day dreams."

She reached up and covered her face with her hands, rubbing her eyes and trying to keep from screaming the anger she felt at herself. It was that night in Metropolis all over again. Lowell Jeffries had stolen a story Lois had been working on for weeks and gotten the promotion to the crime desk that went with it. Lois had shown up at Cat's apartment, red eyed and broken. Cat had taken her inside and held her when she cried. Cat had supposed to be comforting her friend, but instead she'd given into the crush she'd been nursing since the moment they met. She'd tipped Lois's head back and kissed her. One kiss turned into two, into three, and they'd ended up spending most of the weekend making love on every horizontal surface in Cat's apartment. They'd spent most of the next year going back and forth between making love and screaming at each other.

God, she had loved Lois so much it had almost killed her, but they were doomed from the start. All either of them had to offer anyone were long nights at the office, borderline alcoholism, and emotionally stunted hearts that all too often confused codependence with love. Both of them were so broken they couldn't come up with a whole person between them, and they did nothing for the entire year they were together but cling to each other madly while all their sharp edges cut them to the bone. Two and a half decades and four marriages later, she had trouble remembering her ex-husbands faces, but she remembered the exact expression Lois wore every time she had hurt her.

She fought to hold back the tears. She'd thought she'd prepared herself for this. Thought she'd be able to get through it. But losing even the dream of Kara was going to hurt so much worse than Lois. She'd loved Lois fiercely, and she knew Lois had loved her just as fiercely in return. It just hadn't been enough. No matter how much they'd loved each other, it was never enough to make either of them actually change. Not the way Clark changed Lois. Not the way Kara had changed her. Lois had been someone to cling to while they both tried not to drown in their own pain. Kara had lifted her out of the relentless sea, set her on dry land, and showed her the well spring of hope. She wasn't sure she was going to survive that being taken away from her.

" /" Kara whispered as she slipped her hands around Cat's wrists. Gently, she pulled Cat's hands away from her face, and Cat found herself staring down at Kara, who was kneeling on front of her, smiling up at her in a way that made Cat's heart soar, even as it was ripping itself into pieces.

" w khap i zhor .:zhao w rraop .:zhaoes zhindif w rraop .pahskiles rrip w khap ni :divi/" Kara whispered. " khuhp w voiehd im ;zuhne non w udolkhehdia gahv shahrrehth im/"

"Tell me what you are saying," Cat pleaded. She didn't know the words, but the tone was soft and reverent and made Cat hope that her world wasn't going to come down around here like it had decades earlier when she'd come home and found a door key laying on her kitchen counter.

"I said 'Please, don't cry.'" Kara reached up and brushed back a strand of hair, tucking it behind Cat's ear. "You are my heart. I love you. I have always loved you. You make me see light." Kara smiled even wider as slipped her hands up Cat's arms, taking Cat's hands in her own. She brought them down to her mouth, so she could kiss them. "I dreamed of this, but I was afraid to let myself hope for it."

Cat stared down into Kara's eyes, afraid to speak, afraid to breath, lest she burst the bubble of what must surely be a dream. Until finally, not knowing became more painful that the fear that this would all vanish. "You mean that?"

"I do," Kara said. "I'm pretty sure I was in love with you by the end of my first day."

Cat raised her hand, cupping Kara's check, running her thumb over the soft skin. "You shouldn't," she said. "I'm terrible, and you deserve better."

"I deserve to be happy," Kara said, "and being with you would make me happy." She rose up off her knees and leaned towards Cat and the kiss that felt almost inevitable.

When their lips met, it was felt like coming home. The world melted away, and all the weight she cared lifted. There was nothing in that moment but Kara. Kara's sinfully soft lips gliding over hers, Kara's infinitely gentle hands cradling her face. Kara's mouth opening willingly for Cat's tongue. Someone moaning. She wasn't sure who. Just that the kiss was over before she was satisfied, but that only meant it hadn't lasted for the rest of her life.

She had just enough time to meet Kara's gaze and smile before the clapping started. Both of their eyes went wide as they turned and looked out to see the entire bullpen looking at them. Some of them were laughing, some of them were clapping, two women in the back were exchanging money, and poor Eve looked like she couldn't decide whether she was happy or terrified.

Cat was shocked for exactly three seconds before her eyes narrowed and she reached up, turning Kara's face back towards hers, leaning down to kiss her again. After all, it was her company and her building and her office, and if anyone had a problem with her kissing the woman she loved there, they could die mad about it.


	11. Of Lighthouses and Shovel Talks

If there was one thing in the world Cat hated more than rich white men who thought they were smarter than her, it was getting knowing looks from employees. Any other day, she would have curtailed it by just demoting someone to the mailroom, but her reign of terror was taking a serious blow, because she couldn't stop smiling long enough to muster an intimidating glare. What's worse, instead of inspiring fear, like it usually did, she could see amusement on everyone's face because they all knew *why* she was smiling. She had seriously considering ordering them all into the conference room on thirty-eight and having maintenance brick up the door. Sadly, that idea was ruined by the fact that her girlfriend would hear the screams and the cries of 'For the love of God, Montressor' and rescue the worthless minions.

Still, it was worth it. Oh, she absolutely should have done the responsible thing and spent the rest of their scheduled meeting working out details and rules of their new relationship, because she was the practical sort. Instead she's spent ninety minutes on the balcony making out like she was a teenager. If she was honest, she's had honeymoons that made her less excited that getting to second base with Kara.

She'd wanted to take Kara out to dinner after work, but a broken tow line had resulted in cargo barge hitting a cruise ship in Nation's bay. Supergirl had spent hours holding the ship up out of the water while the coat guard had welded temporary patches over the huge hole in the side of the cruise ship. Kara had called her afterwards, telling her she needed some time under the sunlamps to recover.

They'd talked for a while. Cat had teased Kara about the 'mystery' weekend, which was sadly still eight days away. Kara had pouted, which was far less effective when she couldn't bring the puppy dog eyes to bear. Reluctantly, they'd said their goodbyes over the phone, and Cat had gone to bed wishing Kara was with her, and for the first time, not ashamed of it.

She's been a little disappointed when she'd gotten an early morning text about putting out a wildfire upstate, but she was still ridiculously happy.

"Miss Grant?"

Cat looked up from the photo proofs she'd been reviewing to see Eve standing in the doorway to her office and an annoyed Alex Danvers leaning against Eve's desk with an impatient expression on her face.

"It's okay," Cat said. "Agent Danvers is always welcome." She saw the shock on Eve's face, because the day she'd met Eve, she'd explained that the only people who got in to see her without prior approval were Carter, Kara and Lois. Adding someone else to that list was a big deal. "Add Eliza Danvers and J'onn J'onzz to that list as well."

"Yes, Ms. Grant."

Eve stepped back out of the office, and waved Alex through. Cat set down the proof she was working on and settled back in her chair, bracing herself. She supposed she should have expected this. After all, she knew how protective she was of Kara, and hadn't she mentioned to the girl that there were plenty of people willing to burn the world to keep her warm?

"May I sit?" Alex asked.

"Of course," Cat said, keeping the tension out of her voice by sheer force of will. If this went badly, she and Kara might well be over before they even started. Kara wouldn't choose her over Alex for any number of reasons, not the least of which is there was no way in the world Cat would let her. Eliza, Alex, J'onn and Winn were Kara's family.

"Thanks," Alex said as she sat down, and Cat couldn't help but notice she looked like she'd been crying.

"Are you okay, Agent Danvers?" Cat asked.

"No," Alex said. "I'm really not."

Cat felt her heart seize, because she could only think of one reason Alex would come to her when she was upset. Apparently, her concern showed on her face, because Alex's reaction was immediate.

"Kara's fine," Alex said. "Well, fine might be a bit of a stretch. She's high as a kite right now, but that will wear off in a few hours."

"High?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Alex said. "She went to help put out a wildfire this morning, and it turns out the fire got started on a pot farm, and, well, unlike alcohol, Kryptonian physiology doesn't process cannabinoids so fast it doesn't have time to impact their physiology. She put out the fire, but she inhaled enough of the smoke that she's gonna be stoned for at least another five or six hours."

"Oh, dear. Is the city's food supply safe?" Cat asked, fighting back laughter.

Alex grinned. "The DEO is ordering two large Hawaiian pizzas and fifty Mango Ghost Pepper Wings from Piefection every half hour. Pot always makes her crave spicy food."

"I'm afraid to ask why you know that," Cat said.

"You've never noticed Kara's 'period chocolate'?" Alex asked, slightly surprised.

"I had," Cat said. "But I didn't look too closely. I go through three bags of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark every month myself."

"Kara's had a medical card since she was thirteen. It's the only thing mom could find that was effective at treating Kryptonian strength period cramps. Fair warning, the little twerp doesn't share."

"I'll keep that in mind," Cat said. "So, what can I do for you, Agent Danvers?"

"Call me Alex."

"Okay. I suppose you should probably call me Cat."

"Right. Okay. Um…" Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I need some advice."

"From me?" Cat said.

"Yeah," Alex said.

"I admit, I'm surprised. I assumed I was in for a shovel talk. Actually, I think I expected at least three of them. Possibly four, if I ever decide to let Clark back in the building. Though I expected the one from Winslow would be especially amusing."

"I would actually pay to see that," Alex said. "But no. Kara showed me the paperwork you gave her. I'll admit, I was pissed off by some of the things on the list, but I've seen you with her, and I know how much of your own time you've spent taking care of her with the whole Doomsday thing and the James thing. And I figure anyone who is willing to burn down thirty years of their life to make amends for it when they think they've crossed the line might be worth a second chance."

"And you know I'll already aware of what you will do to me if I hurt your little sister," Cat observed.

"Yeah, they won't find the body," Alex said.

"If I ever hurt her, Alex, I promise you I will hand you the shovel."

"After talking to Lois, I believe that," Alex said.

"Lois Lane?"

"Yeah," Alex said. "I needed to deal with the Clark situation anyway, and I had to be sure. I mean, after the paperwork, I figured you were on the level, but this is Kara."

"And Kara always wants to see the best in people," Cat finished.

"Yeah," Alex said. "I mean, I get it. It's how she copes. She gets up in the morning, and shoves down every shitty thing that's ever happened to her into a place so deep it can't hurt her, and the happiness and joy and optimism are the cork in the bottle. But I've been looking out for her for some long it's like a reflex. I want to step on anything that so much as looks at her funny."

"And I'm definitely a threat," Cat said.

Alex shrugged. "She loves you," Alex said. "I don't know how long that love has involved the desire to do things that I beg both of you to never, ever tell me about, but she was star struck by you before she even applied at CatCo. I'm pretty sure she'd do almost anything you asked. So, I had to be sure. I figured Lois would give me all the dirty, since, you know, you too make this huge show of hating each other. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be total bullshit, and I find out she's in love with you too."

Cat flinched, and immediately hated herself for showing weakness. "I think you're reading a little too much into whatever it was she said. Any feelings Lois might have had for me are long gone."

"Maybe," Alex said. "I mean, her exact words were, 'Clark is the love of my life, but that doesn't mean I ever stopped being in love with Cat, or that I will ever be over her,' so I could see how I might be misinterpreting things."

"Well, Lois' has never been good at laying out her point in a clear and concise manner," Cat said, but than a little surprised to hear what Lois had said.

"I know," Alex said. "You'd think a Pulitzer Prize Winner wouldn't be so damn vague, but once I told her why I was calling, she told me a lot of stuff. About how the two of you got together. About how much she loved you, but how she couldn't seem to stop herself from hurting you. About how much she wanted to be with you and but couldn't convince herself to take the hit that coming out in the early nineties would have been. About how you begged her to go to couples counselling, and about how she left you because she thought you deserved someone who wouldn't be ashamed of what they felt for you."

"That's why she left?" Cat asked. She regretted it immediately, because the question had just slipped out without any filter at all.

"According to her," Alex said.

Cat took a deep breath and let it out slowly, repeating the process several times as she stomped down on her anger. "Well, if that's the case, I think I'm going to speak with my accountant and see about sending her a bill for all four divorces and twenty-five years' worth of therapy bills."

"I know the feeling," Alex said, and Cat was a little surprised at the anger in her voice. "Trying to understand women is a little like trying to understand Morse Code over a staticky line while your being shot at, and the person transmitting is sending a message in ancient high Kandoran."

Cat let out a small laugh and had to reach up to cover her mouth to keep from laughing harder, but Alex looked up at her, and Cat could see the annoyance behind those eyes for a moment. If faded fast though. When Cat was sure she could control herself, she moved her hand.

"Romantic difficulties?" Cat asked.

"Kind of," Alex said. "Honestly, that's sort of why I'm here."

"Oh?" Cat said.

"Yeah. I um… I mean, we don't know each other well, and I don't usually ask anyone for advice, but Kara is always talking about the way you're able to cut through the bullshit and get right to the heart of the problem. And considering you've got my sister, Lois and Lucy Lane, and pretty much the entire Autostraddle readership worshiping the ground you walk on, I thought maybe you could help steer me in the right direction."

"You're asking me for romantic advice?" Cat asked, not quite sure how this conversation had taken a turn for the surreal so quickly.

"I guess so," Alex said. "Kara said you'd even written a book."

"Not one of my better works," Cat said, "but yes."

"I, um… I met this woman," Alex said. "And I developed feelings."

"That does happen," Cat said.

"Yeah. Um, not so much to me before, but yeah. She called me out on it, and it scared me, but I got over it and I came out to Kara, and I told this woman how I felt, and I kissed her and…" Alex trailed off, the words clearly coming with increasing difficulty as she got closer to the point.

"She didn't feel the same way," Cat said.

"No," Alex said. "She didn't. She said she didn't want to get involved with someone who was fresh off the boat."

"I see," Cat said. "What exactly are you looking for, Alex?"

"I don't know," she said. "I mean, it's not really a break up, but if I'm honest, I was always relieved when a guy dumped me. Which probably should have clued me into the fact that I'm apparently a huge lesbian. This… it hurts. I think about her all the time, and I just hate that I still want to be with her when she doesn't want me, and I feel humiliated that the first time I've ever cared about someone like that, I'm not good enough for them. And I just… I need to know how to move on. And I don't want to drag up any painful memories for you, but when Lois told me what happened, I thought… You've been through this and maybe you could tell me how to make it stop feeling like someone cut me open and hollowed me out inside."

Cat watched as Alex sat there, pouring her heart out. Somewhere about half way through, Alex had started crying, and Cat felt her heart breaking for the other woman. She normally hated seeing people cry, but apparently, women named Danvers were a weak spot for her otherwise prickly exterior. Besides, this one was an easy fix. After all, she had written the book.

"She didn't say she didn't want you," Cat said.

"What?" Alex asked.

"Alex, if you're telling me everything, then she didn't say she didn't want you. She said she was nervous about getting involved with someone who'd just come out. And given that, prior to your sister, the most meaningful relationship of my life turned into a disaster because, among other things, the woman I was in love with was so deeply closeted that she would treat me like she hated me in public, and I was so hurt I couldn't stop myself from lashing out in return, I can understand her point. It doesn't mean she's right, but I can understand it."

"Then what do I do?" Alex asked.

"Don't be fresh off the boat," Cat said. Alex gave her a confused look, and Cat sighed and reached down, opening one of the draws in her desk and pulling out a paperback book. "I had originally intended to give this to your sister when she was pining for Oslen, but then two of my employees went all revengy, aliens mind controlled the whole city, and before I could give her the book, the two of them seemed to sort it out. So, today is your lucky day." She held out the book to Alex.

"The Lighthouse Technique?" Alex asked, giving the book a dubious expression.

"Yes," Cat said. "Like I said, not my best work, but it got me a spot on Oprah. The point is, this woman…"

"Maggie," Alex said.

"This Maggie is interested, but she afraid you're going to get cold feet and go scampering back to Narnia, or realize this is just an experiment, or something equally ridiculous. So, you need to allay those fears. Show her you're the outest, proudest lesbian on the block. Make yourself shiny and attractive, but most of all, make yourself unavailable. When she sees everything you have to offer being offered to someone else, it will drive her crazy, and sooner or later, she'll come to you, hat in hand."

"But how do I do that?"

"That's a good question," Cat said as she reached for her phone. "Are you free Friday night?" Cat asked as she flicked through her contacts.

"Baring an alien invasion," Alex said.

"Good," Cat said as she hit the send button, and raised the phone to her ear.

"CAT!" the woman on the other end of the line responded.

"Hey, Claire," Cat replied. "How are you this morning?"

"Oh, you know how it is. I deal with nothing but lawyers and FBI agents all day."

"You're a Federal Judge, Claire," Cat said.

"I know," Claire replied. "My mother is so ashamed."

"Your mother is a Hippy who hasn't realized the sixties are over."

"This is true," Claire said. "Now, tell me darling, why did you call? Finally decided you needed a younger woman in your life after all?"

"Yes, but her name is Kara, and she's the jealous type."

"The assistant! Oh, Cat, that is so cliché! I love it!"

Cat glanced up at Alex who has an utterly bewildered expression on her face, and grinned. "Well, you're going to love this even more. She's got an absolutely gorgeous sister who's an FBI agent."

"Please tell me she's gay," Claire said.

"Just out of Naria, dear," Cat said, smiling at the sudden look of panic on Alex's face. "The problem is, the toaster oven recipient doesn't want to date someone who's fresh off the boat."

"Oh, the poor little baby gay! This will never do!" Claire replied. "Send me a picture."

Cat took the phone away from her ear and activated the Camera, snapping a picture of a slightly shocked Alex and sending it to Claire.

"Oh, the poor dear has been crying, too," Claire said. "Friday night?"

"I'll text you her phone number. Seven O'clock good for you?"

"Yes," Claire said. "Tell her to bring her handcuffs!"

Cat laughed as Claire hung up. She looked over at Alex.

"You have a date with Claire Deangelo Friday night at 7:00 PM," Cat said.

"The warrant judge?" Alex squeaked.

"Oh, you know her then?" Cat asked.

Alex shook her head. "Not personally, but she signs about half our warrants."

"Well, I suggest you don't take any for her to sign Friday. But do dress up. I'll have Eve arrange a town car."

"Um… but… where will I take her?" Alex asked.

Cat rolled her eyes. "You really are just as bad as your sister. Eve will arrange a town car. GLAAD is holding a fundraiser Friday night. I usually just send my donation by courier, but you can take the tickets. There's an open bar, and Claire is a divine dance and despite being a huge flirt won't expect anything but a bit of pleasant company for the evening, so relax. You'll go, you'll get your picture taken with a beautiful, successful woman on your arm, and if those pictures just happen to find their way in front of Maggie, well, it's not your fault."

Alex stared at her for moment, her jaw hanging down slightly, before she seemed to shake herself out of it. "I'm not sure if you're brilliant, or crazy, but please don't ever go Supervillain," she said. "We wouldn't have a chance."

"Of course you wouldn't," Cat said. "I'm me."

"Thank you," Alex said. "Not just for this. For taking care of my sister, and for dealing with Clark and James."

"You can thank me when your Maggie comes to you begging for a date. Now give me her contact information so I can make sure she sees the pictures of you and Claire."


	12. Once Upon a December

Cat felt slightly ridiculous. She was almost fifty years old, and she felt like a teenager on her fight date. Kara had texted her near the end of the work day, apologizing for missing her that morning and asking if she'd like to go out. Cat had jumped at the chance and was about to get Eve to make reservations when Kara had texted her back saying only 'I'll make the arrangements. Expect a late dinner. Dress is formal. I'll be wearing green.'

She had chosen an electric blue tuxedo with black satin lapels and paired it with black lace pumps with an ankle strap. She's skipped the tuxedo shirt, opting instead for a simple black silk camisole under it. It wasn't a look she sported often, because one shouldn't break out the big guns every day, but she knew it looked good on her, and as silly as it was, given that Kara had seen her at her absolute worst, she wanted to impress, and she knew this outfit would do it. But her hand still shook when she reached for the door knob.

Cat opened the door and felt like the breath was knocked out of her, because breathtaking was the only word for how Kara looked. She was wearing an ankle length sleeveless emerald green gown with a Queen Anne neckline. Her hair was twisted into a fancy up do held in place by green lacquered hair sticks, and even the usual glasses had been replaced with a pair of elegant green cat's eye half frames.

"Hi," Kara said as she reached up and adjusted her glasses. Cat felt herself relax as all the awkward charm she loved was reflected in that one simple gesture.

"You look lovely, dear," Cat asked.

"You look amazing," Kara said. "I mean, not that you don't always, but the blue and the black and the shoes and just… wow."

Cat laughed. "Eloquent, as always," she said, feeling a tiny blush touch her cheeks at the open admiration from Kara.

Cat saw the decision in Kara's eyes, and felt a slight shudder run through her as Kara's hands came to set on her hips. She tilted her head back in anticipation as Kara stepped closer, and closed her eyes, moaning softly as Kara leaned down and kissed her. The kiss was soft and slow, and she parted her lips, welcoming Kara into her mouth when she felt the touch of Kara's tongue on her lips. The kissed seemed to last forever, which meant it was far too short, but Cat pulled away when she found herself toying with the pull of Kara's zipper, and knew she was going to unwrap her like an overdue Christmas present if she didn't step away for a moment.

Her willpower was sorely tested just a moment later when she opened her eyes and found herself staring into the vivid blue of Kara's gaze, but she used the same iron will that had built and empire to keep from leaning forward and kissing Kara again.

"Isn't that supposed to come at the end of the date?" Cat teased.

"You know me," Kara said. "No patience when I see something that looks good enough to eat."

"Oh," Cat said, "someone's feeling brave."

"I think it's the company," Kara said, grinning. "Knowing the most beautiful woman in the city has a crush on you is a huge confidence booster."

"Darling, please," Cat said. "I'm Cat Grant. I don't have crushes. I do, however, from time to time fall madly in love with absolutely extraordinary women who take my breath away the moment I meet them."

"Oh," Kara said. "How often does this happen?"

"So far, only twice," Cat said. "So, you might have a bit of competition around my eightieth birthday."

"I'm not worried," Kara said. "I can take her."

"I'll bet you can," Cat replied. "So, as nice as this is, I hope you didn't have me get dressed up just to make out in the doorway all night."

"No," Kara said. "That part was just me realizing I'm allowed to kiss you whenever I want now."

"Well, maybe not during board meetings," Cat said.

"Not even if they are really boring?" Kara asked.

"That would be all of them, Darling," Cat said.

"Good point." Kara gave a dramatic sigh. "I guess we should actually leave the building. After all, the tickets were had to come by."

"Tickets?" Cat said. "You're not dragging me to a Disney movie, are you?"

"No," Kara said seriously. "Disney movies are strictly third date material."

Cat glared, but Kara just grinned back at her.

* * *

Cat sat next to Kara, riding in companionable silence in the back of the limo. Cat has asked where they were headed, but Kara would only say that she wanted it to be a surprise. Normally, she would have badgered a date until she got an answer, but Kara had just given her the sad puppy dog eyes, and Cat had folded like a cheap suit, and taken Kara's hand, holding it and soaking in the contact.

There was so much she wanted to talk to Kara about, so many questions she wanted to ask, but for the first time ever, she felt like she had time. Before Kara, even her best relationships had always felt like they were on a ticking clock. If she was honest, it was almost a relief. Lois was the only person before Kara she'd actually wanted a forever with, but it had never felt like it was in reach. With Kara, it felt like it was. It wasn't that she wasn't afraid, she knew she was terrible at relationships, it was just that she felt hope. Kara had already seen her at her worst, and by some miracle, was still there, and maybe, just maybe, she always would be.

"We're here," Kara whispered as the limo pulled over and came to a stop.

"Mmmm…" Cat said. "Ready to tell me what you've got planned?"

Kara shook her head. "You'll find out in a second anyway."

One of the attendants opened the door, and Kara let go of her hand long enough to climb out of the Limo, then offered Cat her hand. Cat took it, letting Kara help her to her feet. She glanced up, smiling as she realized they were outside of the Swan Theatre. Then she saw the poster for the show in the "Now Playing" display.

"I thought you said Disney movies were strictly third date material," Cat teased.

"Anastasia was Fox Animation," Kara said, grinning, "And this isn't the movie."

"Oh," Cat said. "I stand corrected." She smiled at Kara as Kara lead her towards the entrance to the Theatre, but the smile faded almost immediately as a thought occurred to her. "Kara, darling, I appreciate the thought, but do you know what this show is about?"

Kara turned to her, as the fondness she saw reflected in those gorgeous blue eyes made her heart melt all over again.

"Yes," Kara said, "but thank you for asking." Kara leaned over, kissing her softly on the cheek. "Thank you for taking care of me," she whispered after the kiss.

Cat just squeezed her hand in reply.

Normally, Cat liked to be in control, but she let Kara lead them, first to the merchandise table to get the collector's program, then to the obligatory stop at candy counter, where they got a small bag of M&M's for Cat, and two bags of Reese's Pieces for Kara before heading in to the theater. The seats were excellent, eighth row orchestra center, and Kara had timed their arrival perfectly.

"I didn't realize there was a tour of this show," Cat said as they settled in. The show had only been open on Broadway a few months, and it normally took a year or more before the shows started touring.

"There's not," Kara said. "This is something special."

Cat raised an eyebrow, and started to reach for her program, but before she could, the lights when down. Kara took her hand, giving it a small squeeze as they settled in to watch the show.

It only took a few minutes to figure out what Kara meant about the show being special. She wasn't the biggest fan of pop culture, but she remembered enough of the movie, which had been a favorite of Carter's as a child, to recognize that Dimitri had been replaced in the performance by Dimitria. There was a small scene where she and her partner Vlad argued over whether Dimitria should pretend to be Anastasia, but it was decided she didn't look enough like the missing little girl to pull it off.

The story moved on, moving quickly from number to number. During the second song, Cat felt Kara shift slightly. It wasn't much, but Cat glanced over, and caught the glistening of tears on Kara's face. She let go of Kara's hand and slipped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, and holding her. Kara leaned into her, and they stayed that way right as they watched Dimitria and Anya prepare for and then travel to Paris, while slowly falling in love. Cat only let go after Anya had finished singing her way through working up her courage to confront her past and the curtain fell, signaling intermission.

Cat took the lead once the lights came up, guiding Kara to the restroom.

"Are you okay?" Cat asked.

Kara nodded as she washed her face. "I am," she said as she started washing her face. "I know it might not look like it, but I'm enjoying the show."

If it were anyone else, Cat wasn't sure she would believe them, but she could always tell when Kara was lying, and she wasn't, so Cat just rested a hand in the small of Kara's back, and rubbed gently as Kara washed her face and reapplied her makeup.

* * *

Cat held Kara as they watched the second act, rubbing her shoulder softly through Once Upon a December, and smiling at the grin on Kara's face when Anya and Dimitria finally kiss at the end. There was another brief stop in the bathroom to freshen up Kara's makeup a second time before they left the theater and headed to dinner at a small, elegant Asian Mexican fusion restaurant Cat had never heard of called el Buda.

By the time they arrived at the restaurant, Kara was back in her Supergirl mode, leading the way to a private dining room, bathed in candlelight.

"I'm almost afraid to ask how you arranged all this on such short notice," Cat said as soon as the sommelier had left them to fetch a bottle of wine.

"What kind of supportive sister would I be if I didn't have every gay cultural even in national city for the next five years memorizes, along with details on who to contact to get tickets incase my sister needed a place to take a date on a moment's notice?" Kara asked, preening just a little.

"A normal one," Cat said. "But normal has never been your style, has it?"

Kara blushed slightly and dipped her head. "I wish it was, sometimes. Not so much, since Supergirl, but even back on Krypton, I used to dream of being normal."

"Being exceptional is hard," Cat said, reaching out and taking Kara's hand again.

"I don't want to sound like I'm whining," Kara said, "I had so much. A family that loved me, anything I needed. Wealth, power, access to anything. But it was lonely, sometimes."

"Tell, me?"

"I was gifted. I moved through the learning courses quickly, and even on the advanced work, I always achieved top marks. I was the youngest person in the history of the Science Guild to be offered full membership. I spent more time around adults than I did people my own age. I didn't have any friends on Krypton, except for my aunt Astra. Then, she was gone, and the Council was angry with Jor-El, and no one wanted anything to do with us, towards the end."

"Sometimes, I feel guilty," Kara said. "When I got to Earth, Eliza and Jeremiah were so scared I'd draw attention, that it gave me an excuse to hide what I could do. I kept my grades up, but I didn't do anything extra. I focused on trying to make friends, which I was actually terrible at."

"Well, you've come a long way in that department," Cat said.

Kara smiled. "That was all Alex," Kara said. "Towards the end of high school, we were both outcasts, but we had each other, and she taught me so much. When we went to college, I started doing better, making friends. It was still hard, because I had to hide so much, but I was happier."

"You did better than I did," Cat said. "I've never been good at making friends. I think Oliva's my friend despite any efforts I might have made, not because of them. And Lois…" Cat shrugged. "We're friends, because when you've cared that much about someone, you're only options are to keep caring, or hate them. And appearances to the contrary, I could never hate Lois."

Kara started to say something but stopped and glanced towards the door. A moment later, the waiter entered, carrying the bottle Cat had selected. They took a moment to order. Cat order for the seared tuna appetizer and a kale wasabi chicken fajita Caesar salad, while Kara ordered the family sized pots stickers appetizer, the Peking Duck chimichanga, and the chicken massaman chalupas. The waiter disappeared, and Cat turned back to Kara.

"I want the whole story on Lois at some point," Kara said.

"I'll need a fresh bottle of Scotch for that," Cat said. "What made you chose that show?"

"Other than the obvious?" Kara said.

"I expected a dinner date. Maybe a flight around the city."

"Did you enjoy it?" Kara asked nervously.

"I did," Cat assured her. "It was wonderful."

Kara smiled. "I love the story," she said. "When I got here, I watched a lot of TV. It helped with my English. Eliza and Jeremiah still had the VCR hooked up. They'd updated most of their collection to DVD by that point, but one weekend I found all of Alex's old VHS tapes. The entire Disney library, along with a bunch of others. I think Anastasia was the first movie I ever loved."

"I think I scared Eliza with it. When I first found it, I just sat and watched it over and over again, the whole day. I think I cried the whole time. She tried to get me to turn it off. Jeremiah too. I think that's the first time Alex did anything nice for me. She convinced them to back off. I don't know if she ever realized I heard her telling them to leave me alone."

Cat could see it. Of course the story would appeal. A young girl who'd watched her family die, a chance at a reunion with a loved one. She could imagine the catharsis.

"I feel like I should apologize though," Kara said. "I didn't expect to cry through the whole show. It's been years since I did that."

"You don't need to apologize," Cat said. "I'm honored that you felt like you could share something so personal with me."

Kara lifted Cat's hand to her mouth, kissing the back of it. "I want to share everything with you," she said, "but it seemed especially appropriate tonight, because I finally understand the ending."

"What do you mean?" Cat asked.

"I mean, as much as I loved the story, I could never understand why Anya didn't stay with her grandmother at the end. I would have given anything to have my family back. Even later, as much as I came to love Alex and Eliza and Jeremiah, the idea of having anyone from Krypton back in my life was powerful, and I couldn't imagine a reason I would give it up. Not until I heard you say you love me."

"But making the choice she did… It was about moving on. Not living in the past. If she'd stayed with her grandmother, the past would always define her. Going with Dimitri gave her the chance to be free of that. She was choosing to become her own person. Something she wouldn't be if she'd stayed."

"I love Alex, Eliza and J'onn, but all of them, but they forget who I am sometimes. I know they're trying to protect me, but they treat me like I'm this fragile thing, and I love that you don't. You take care of me, and you give me space to grieve, and to be broken when I need to be, but it never seems to make me less to you. I know it scares you when I go out there. I can see it on your face, hear it in the way your heart beat changes, but you tell me to go instead of arguing."

"You said you didn't know what I would want from you, but that's it. You love me, but more than anything else, you respect me enough to treat me like an adult. You might argue with me if you think I'm wrong, might try to change my mind, but you always allow me the dignity of my choices. You let me choose who I want to be, and that's something I never had before, even on Krypton."

Cat tried to say something but found it difficult to speak past the lump in her throat. She took a moment, letting her emotions settle, before she spoke. "Look at that," she said. "Leaving me speechless twice in as many days." She pulled her hand back, drawing Kara's across the table so she could hold it in both of hers as she brushed a kiss over Kara's knuckles. "I know everyone asks so much of you, and I don't ever want to add to that. You carry so much. All I ask is that you always try to come back to me. I like who I am when you're in my life."

Kara smiled at her, and if both of them had eyes that were a little watery, neither of them were going to point it out. "I promise I will always try, Cat," Kara said, and really, that's all Cat could ask for.


	13. Concern

Author's Note: The idea of how Cat and Carter communicate when he's stressed is lifted shamelessly from unicyclehippo's wonderful fic _Carter Grant, Super Sleuth_ which you should absolutely go read as it is one of the classics of SuperCat fandom, and a wonderful story.

I have edited one line since this was originally posted for clarity.

* * *

Cat felt a moment of déjà vu as she walked towards the front door. Four nights earlier, she'd been nervous because it was her first date with Kara. Today, she was nervous for a far different reason. What she had with Kara was turning out to be everything she'd hoped for, but it could all come crashing to an end in just a few minutes, because she was about to tell Carter about it. She'd told Kara that this couldn't continue if it wasn't okay with him, and Kara had whole heartedly agreed with that. Which made Cat love her that much more and made her that much more afraid of how much it would hurt if Carter reacted poorly.

She took a deep breath as she opened the door. Anthony stood there next to Carter, but she ignored him and bent down, smiling at her son.

"Hey," she said, reigning in her desire to reach out and hug him. Carter was pretty good with it normally, but he was always a little skittish about physical contact after spending time at his father's. It was one of the reasons she stayed angry with Anthony almost constantly. She wasn't perfect herself. She sometimes forgot to check in with him before she hugged him if she was scared, like she'd been after the train incident, but Anthony completely disregarded Carter's normal shyness about physical contact. It was also one of the reasons she was so stunned at how Carter had taken to Kara during the babysitting incident.

"Hey, Mom," Carter said in a subdued tone. She had to fight to keep from frowning. Something was off.

"Why don't you go inside," she said. "I'll be in in just a minute."

Carter nodded and slipped past her, his head down and his shoulders slumped, and Cat felt the anger burning in her. She stamped it down, determined not to have a blow up on today of all days. She stood up and looked at Anthony.

"Let's go inside," he said. "We need to talk."

Cat reached up and placed her hand in the center of his chest, and pushed, forcing him back so that she could step out into the hall and close the door behind her.

"I have a feeling this isn't a conversation I want Carter to overhear."

"Then you should have thought about that before you splashed it across every gossip column in the country."

"Anthony, as always, your mouth is moving, and you're making noise, but nothing meaningful is being added to the conversation," Cat said, but she felt a cloud of cold dread envelop her, because he could only possibly be talking about one thing. She hadn't checked the headlines that morning. Between worrying about how Carter was going to take the news that she and Kara were dating, and day dreaming about the three dates they'd been on so far, she hadn't had time, but it was starting to sound like that was a mistake.

"You're not really going to stand there and pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about," he replied.

"I have some notion of what you might be talking about, but hope I'm wrong. My opinion of myself might never recover if it turns out I was such a poor judge of character that I married such a small, narrow minded little man. So please, enlighten me."

"It's all over the news, Cat. You're fucking your secretary. What's her name? Karen, or Christie or Katy?"

Cat raised her index finger in warning. "First, Kara hasn't been my assistant in months. Second, I don't see how who I date is any of your concern."

"Oh, please," Anthony said. "If you wanna get a piece on the side, that's your business, but letting the help sleep their way to the top is beneath you. And taking her out in public. Really? What were you thinking?"

Cat stared at him for a moment, wondering what she'd ever seen in him. Of course, she knew the answer. He'd been kind and attentive when she was at a low point. Adam's father had just gotten married, and he'd asked her to sign the paperwork so his wife could legally adopt Adam. And as husbands go, Anthony wasn't the worst she'd had, but that was a fairly low bar. He'd always been a little selfish. A trait which had only gotten worse once she'd gotten pregnant, and which gave her a clue about why he was so upset.

"You should really thank me, Anthony," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "After all, this just proves you weren't responsible for the failure of our marriage. No one could expect it to last, since I'm just a frigged little lesbian ice queen."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't be a bitch."

"Oh, why not? That's what you're really worried about, isn't it? Everyone saying I switched because you couldn't perform."

"I'm worried about my son."

"That's funny. You weren't worried about your son a few weeks ago when Kara was the one to ride every roller coaster at Six Flags with him, because you were off fucking your… What did you call it? Oh, yes. Your 'piece on the side.'"

"That's not fair."

"Not fair? You want to talk about 'not fair'? Not fair is seeing the disappointment on *my* son's face every time his so-called father fails to show up. Not fair is having *my* son ask me why his father doesn't love him. If there's something wrong with him, or if he did something to make you hate him. That's not fair."

"I have found someone who cares about me, and who cares about *my* son enough to actually show up when she promises too. If you care about your son, then you can take the hit to your pathetic ego. If you can't, I can have my lawyers draw up termination of parental rights paperwork. But if you ever say one negative word about Kara in front of Carter, I promise you, we will revisit the divorce decree, and this time I won't hold back."

"Cat-"

"We're done," Cat said, cutting him off. "If you take issue with the fact that my twenty-six-year-old girlfriend is a better parent to your child than you are, I suggest you take a good, hard look in the mirror."

Without giving him a chance to reply, Cat opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside, closing it as quietly as possible, and locking it. She took a deep breath, wishing she could take a few minutes and review the news coverage, but she'd already wasted too much time on someone who's opinion didn't matter. She needed to be with her son.

She pushed off the door and headed into the apartment. A quick glance told her Carter wasn't in the kitchen or the living room, which was a bad sign. It meant he was in his bedroom. She headed down the hall, pausing a moment to pick up her tablet before knocking softly on his door.

There was no answer, then then, she hadn't really expected one. She lifted her tablet and opened her chat app.

'Carter, sweetie, can I come in?' she sent.

'Yeah,' he replied.

Cat opened the door and stepped into Carter's room. He was sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard, looking at his tablet. Cat pulled the chair from his desk over next to his bed and sat down.

'Hey,' she sent. She sat patiently, watching as he worked on the tablet for a while, forcing herself not to reach out and touch him like she ached to. She waited, knowing he needed time and space to feel safe, so she gave it to him. She spent the time pulling up the gossip sites, not at all surprised to find imagines of her and Kara at the theater on Thursday night, and a few from the Art Gallery Cat had taken Kara to Friday. She sat quietly for almost half an hour, reading all the nasty comments about her love life on TMZ, until Carter sent her another message.

'Are you dating Kara?' he asked, not looking up from what he was doing.

'Yes,' she sent back. She was silent for a few minutes, waiting for his response as she browsed the somewhat kinder comments on CatCo's entertainment and celebrity website.

'Why didn't you tell me?' he asked after about five minutes.

'It's new,' Cat sent back. 'We were just friends for a while. I wanted there to be more, but I didn't think she would feel the same, but we had a conversation on Tuesday. I didn't mean to say anything, but we were both upset about something that happened at the office, and I said something that let her figure out how I feel. We talked more on Wednesday, and she told me she felt the same way. We only went out for the first time Thursday night, but we've been on three dates so far.'

Carter didn't look up from his tablet and she was careful not to look directly at him, instead watching out of the corner of her eye. She was used to this. It was how he coped when the conversation was too intense. When they communicated through the chat app, he could focus on something else, and let it process in the background. It drove his father nuts, which was one of the things she and Anthony fought about when it came to Carter. Anthony thought she coddled him, and Cat thought Anthony had no respect for Carter's special needs. Under the terms of the amended and very detailed custody agreement, Anthony was required to adhere to the recommendations of Carter's therapist, but Cat worried every time Carter left with him.

'So you didn't tell me because I was at Dad's?' Carter sent

'Yes. I was planning on talking to you about it today,' Cat sent back.

Carter hunched forward a bit more, curling in on himself. Cat recognized the signs. He was trying to screw up his courage. For a moment, Cat worried that everything was going to come crashing down, and she was going to have to choose her son over Kara. The outcome was a foregone conclusion, of course, but it would hurt so very much.

'I don't want to see dad anymore,' Carter sent.

Cat let out the breath she'd been holding, waiting for the axe to fall. It only took a second for the dread to be replaced with ice cold fury.

'Did something happen?' she asked.

Carter curled up a bit tighter, and Cat knew she'd asked the wrong question, and started typing quickly.

'Sweetie, if you don't want to go back, you don't have too,' she sent. While she waited, she gripped her tablet in her hands to keep from reaching out to him.

Carter uncurled a bit, and Cat breathed a sigh of relief as she watched him relax. 'Good,' he replied.

'I just want to understand. That's all.'

Carter nodded, but still didn't look up. 'I like Kara. I think she's nice,' he sent.

'So do I,' Cat sent back.

It was a few minutes before Carter replied. 'Dad doesn't like her.'

Cat could see it perfectly in her head. How the whole thing unfolded. Anthony had come across the coverage that morning. Then, like he always did, he forgot Carter existed, and said something horrible about Kara, or her, or both of them, while Carter was within ear shot. Probably mouthing off to whichever younger model he was seeing currently. Cat had trouble keeping track, which is why she had a private investigator who vetted everyone her ex-husband dated.

'I'll tell you what,' Cat sent. 'I'll go call Elizabeth, and we'll see about getting it set so you don't have to go back to your Dad's unless you decide you want to. Then, I'll make us some lunch. How does that sound?'

"Do you think Kara could come visit?" Carter asked out loud, making Cat smile.

"We'll see," Cat said. "If she's not busy, I'll bet she'd like that."

* * *

"How are you doing?" Kara asked Carter.

"Better," Carter replied. "Thanks for coming over."

Cat stopped just outside the doorway to the game room, not wanting to interrupt the moment between her son and Kara.

"I wish I could say anytime, but you know my job keeps me really busy," Kara said. "But I promise, if you ever really need me, I will do everything I can to be here for you and your mom."

"Really?" Carter asked.

"Really," Kara said. "I mean, you obviously know how special I think your mom is."

"Yeah," Carter said. "You always get mushy face when you look at her."

"Mushy face?" Kara said. "I do not!"

"You totally do! Even the first time you took care of me, you'd get the same dopy face she gets when she looks at you."

"You couldn't have told me this a year ago?" Kara said.

"Mom says it's not nice to tell people when they're being stupid," Carter said.

Kara laughed. "Your mom said that?"

"I know, right," Carter replied.

Cat couldn't help but grin, just a little.

"The thing is, even if you and your mom didn't come as a set, which you guys totally do, I'd still want to hang around with you. You're pretty awesome yourself."

"You don't have to say that," Carter said.

"It's true though," Kara said. "Didn't you help Supergirl on the train?"

"You were just giving me busy work, Kara," Carter said.

Cat's breath caught in her throat a little bit at hearing her son say that, but to her surprise, Kara just chuckled.

"What gave it away?" she asked.

"The Scar," Carter said.

"Just don't tell me the glasses are a stupid disguise, okay?" Kara said.

"Sore subject?"

"One of my sister's friends figured it out in, like, five minutes," Kara replied.

"Well, just because I'm not saying it doesn't make it untrue."

Cat had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing.

"You're as bad as your mother, who can totally stop eavesdropping and come in now," Kara said.

Cat rolled her eyes and stepped around the corner, smiling at the sight of Carter and Kara sitting next to each other.

"What gave me away?" Cat asked.

"What didn't?" Kara said. "I smelled the pizza and your perfume, and I heard your heartbeat and your breathing."

"No seeing her through the wall?" Carter asked.

"Nope," Kara said. "Leaded glass lenses. Trust me, X-Ray vision is not something you want use accidently. I have seen things." She gave a dramatic shudder.

Cat sat the pizza down on the table, next to where Carter and Kara had set up Small World. They were both a little frustrated after Cat had beat them two games in a row at Settlers of Catan and opted for a switch in games.

"Do I even want to know what the story is there?" Cat said as she sat down.

"Let's just say no one involved still works at CatCo and leave it at that," Kara said. "Are you okay with this?"

"With Carter having figured out your secret identity?" Cat asked.

"Yeah," Kara said.

"I'm actually a little miffed he didn't think to share the information with his mom if he figured it out that quickly," Cat said, giving Carter a mock glare.

"How long did it take you do figure it out?" Carter asked.

"The email leak," Cat said. "Though I had my suspicions after the Earth Quake. You seem to be taking Carter figuring things out a lot more gracefully than you did when I figured it out."

Kara just smiled at her and reached down, picking her purse up off the floor. "Carter can't fire me because he things I should be Supergirl full time," she said. Cat felt a little guilty at the words, but Kara's tone was light and teasing. "Besides, I was going to check with you first to make sure it was okay that he knew, but I already planned on telling him. I sat down and had a long talk with J'onn after our first date. He agreed with me that it would be hard to explain where these came from without telling Carter the truth." She took two long, narrow boxes out of her purse, and handed them to Cat.

Cat took them and immediately spotted her name on one box, and Carter's name on the other. She opened the one with her name on it and was immediately taken aback. The watch she was staring out was exquisite. She didn't recognize the designer, but it was the design was simple and elegant. It wasn't until she noticed at in place of the usual numbers or Roman numerals, there was symbols she didn't recognize that she understood what she was looking at, and when she tilted the watch to get a better look, she caught sight of Supergirl's emblem etched very finely into the crystal.

"The numbers are Kryptonian," Kara said, blushing a little. "If you don't like it, I can take it back and have them changed."

"No!" Cat said, clutching the box firmly in hand.

Kara smiled at her even wider, obviously pleased. "They are more practical than they look," she said. "Press the crown in."

Cat looked down at the watch as she pressed in the knob on the side, and the face swung up, revealing a button shaped like Supergirl's symbol set in below what looked like a speaker grill.

Carter reached over and took the box with his name on it, opening it reverently. Cat smiled approvingly as she saw that his watch was less a piece of fine jewelry, and something more appropriate to a teenage boy who happened to be a huge Supergirl fan. The watch itself was in the classic diamond shape of Supergirl's symbol, with a sturdy band that looked like leather. The red, yellow and blue symbol was set into the face, and when he pressed in the knob, the face swung up revealing a similar beacon to the one in her watch.

"It's a distress beacon," Kara said. She looked over at Carter, and Cat saw her put on her Supergirl face. "These are for emergencies only."

Carter nodded. "I understand," he said solemnly.

"I hope it's okay," Kara said, her voice a little timid, making Cat turn to look at her. "I was afraid it might be a little too much too soon, but I just… I want to be there if either of you ever need me."

Cat reached out and took her hand.

"Thank you," Cat said, and she meant it. The watches might not be engagement rings, and Cat was under no illusions that they were that far along in their relationship, but the meaning was clear, all the same.

On the same day when Carter's father had reminded her that neither of them were ever anything more to him that status symbols to prop up his reputation and ego, Kara was claiming them as family.


	14. Apologies

Cat lifted her phone at the sound of a new text alert, surprised to see a message from Alex. She glanced up at the display on the elevator, saw that she still had twenty floors to go, and tapped the alert.

'You are a freaking genius!' Alex's text read.

Cat smiled, as she typed out a reply. 'I'm well aware of that. Is there a particular reason you're calling attention to it this morning?' she sent.

'Maggie just left,' Alex replied. 'My apartment,' came the second text, followed quickly by a third. 'Where she spent the night.'

'Claire will be heart broken,' Cat sent back.

'Really?' Alex replied.

Cat rolled her eyes. 'Of course not. Now, tell me what happened.'

The elevator dinged, and Cat strutted out into the bullpen, looking like she owned the place, and marched into her office, giving Eve a list of instructions for the day before sending her on her way. By the time she was done, Alex had responded.

'I took Claire to the party, and Maggie was pulling an extra shift as event security,' Alex sent.

'Maggie spent the while party giving Claire a death glare. I started to wonder if she had heat vision at one point.'

'I took Claire home, and spent Saturday listening to my sister gush about you taking her to an art gallery.'

'Then, last night, Maggie shows up on my doorstep, and as soon as I open the door, she kissed me. At some point, there was a speech about how seeing me with someone else made her realize she was being an idiot.'

'Maggie was working security at the event? My, what a lucky coincidence,' Cat sent.

'That was you? How did you manage that?' Alex texted back.

'I might have made a call to the chief of police after you told me she was a detective,' Cat sent.

'Seriously, do not ever go Supervillain. It wouldn't be fair to the rest of us,' Alex replied.

'Then make sure there are no Supergirl emergencies this weekend,' Cat sent.

'Right. I think I can swing that,' Alex sent back, followed a moment later by, 'I can't believe it actually worked!'

'Oh, yeah of little faith,' Cat sent.

'I don't feel like thank you is enough,' Alex replied.

'Don't worry about it,' Cat sent.

Cat had to stop herself half way through typing "you're family now." She was stunned at how easily the idea had almost slipped out but was even more stunned at how natural it felt. It was a little scary, as she examined the thought, it made an odd sort of sense to her. She'd been day dreaming of Kara being a part of her family for weeks, and Kara and her sister came as a package. In fact, if things worked out with Kara, which she really hoped they would, Cat was going to find herself with a fairly large group of people who suddenly fell into the family category.

'I still want to thank you, and I know you have a thing for information. Especially insider info,' Alex sent.

'You have my attention,' Cat replied, a little thrill going through her.

'So, I would *never* tell someone this unless I was absolutely sure they were in it for the long haul with my sister, but… Edible Arrangements instead of flowers,' Alex sent.

Cat stared at the screen on her phone for a minute, before a slow smile spread across her face, and she started typing.

'I'll make you a deal. If I ever go Supervillain, you can be my second in command, because that is brilliant.'

'Deal!' Alex replied.

Cat sat her phone down, a smile on her face. She fired up her computer and had just started putting together her notes for the 10 AM content meeting when the message alert on her phone went off again.

The message wiped the smile off her face.

'Hey, Cat. I'm at Noonan's. Is Smallville still banned from the building?' Lois sent.

Cat stared at the message for a moment, then sighed. She'd known they'd have to deal with this eventually, but she hadn't expected it to be so soon.

'Let me find out,' Cat replied.

She opened up her instant messaging app, and saw that Kara was active, so she typed out a quick message. 'Lois and Clark are down at Noonan's. Do you want to see them, or should I send them away?'

Cat watched as the three little dots indicating Kara was typing a response appeared, then disappeared several times before an answer came through.

'It's probably best if we just get it over with,' she replied.

'I'm perfectly willing to tell your cousin to fuck off,' Cat sent back. 'And I know Lois well enough to tell you she'd understand. This is entirely up to you.'

'I'll see them,' Kara sent.

'Do you want Alex there?' Cat asked.

'No, but can you be there?' Kara replied.

'Of course. I just didn't want to intrude,' Cat sent.

'You're never intruding. You make me see light,' Kara replied.

Cat stared at the reply for a moment. Kara had said that to her before, and at the time she'd been too overwhelmed by the other things Kara was saying to really absorb it, but it was an odd turn of phrase. One she was sure had some meaning for Kara that she was missing, but one she made a note to ask about later.

'My office?' Cat asked.

'Please,' Kara said.

Cat didn't even have to guess at what was unsaid. Kara's office was an office, but it was also their private refuge, in a way. They spent a lot of time there, even before Doomsday.

'Fifteen minutes' Cat sent back.

'I'll see you soon,' Kara replied.

'I love you,' Cat sent.

'I love you, too,' Kara replied.

Cat closed the chat and called for Eve.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Cat asked as she held Kara's hand in both of her own. They sat on one of the couches, waiting for Eve to return with Lois and Clark. Cat had called security, and lifted the ban on Clark entering the building, but she'd told Lois she'd only let them in if Clark was escorted at all times. It was probably a sign of how bad things were that Lois hadn't even argued the point.

"I'll be okay," Kara said. "I'm trying not to be angry, but I'm having a harder time of that than I expected."

"Be angry," Cat said.

Kara looked over at her. "What?"

"Be angry," Cat repeated. "You have every right to be angry. Anger is healthy. It's your brain's way of telling you something about a situation is wrong. That anger is yours, and if anyone tries to take it away from you, don't trust them. They want to take your anger away before it makes them uncomfortable, or because they are afraid of the power you get from it."

"But you said not to get angry at work," Kara said.

"Poor phrasing on my part," Cat said. "I blame the martini's, which is probably a good title for a book about my third marriage. The point is, getting angry is fine. It's good, even. *Showing* anger is the problem. You have more anger than most people, and more reason to be angry than anybody I know, but you control it. Most of your anger is easy for you to control because you've had so much practice. This is harder for you because it's new. You haven't worn off the sharp edges yet."

"Is that what you do? Control it?" Kara asked.

"No," Cat said. "I wield it like a weapon, most of the time. But not all anger is created equal. When I'm angry at my Mother I lose control and lash out. When I'm angry because it's easier than being afraid or feeling guilty, it's harder. The sharp edges cut where I'm vulnerable."

Kara covered Cat's hands with her free hand. "I…" She didn't finish her sentence, instead turning and looking out of the glass doors of Cat's office. "They're here," she said.

Cat straightened up, taking a deep breath and steadying herself, but being careful to not let go of Kara's hand. Instead, she gave it a quick squeeze to reassure Kara that she was there. A moment later, Eve came into view, leading Lois and Clark towards her office.

Cat remained silent as Eve lead them into the office, and Lois sat down on the couch opposite the one Cat and Kara wear sitting on. Clark took a seat next to her, but when Lois turned to glare at him for a moment, he scooted a little further away from her.

"Do you need anything else, Ms. Grant?" Eve asked.

"No, Eve. Thank you," Cat said.

"I'll get the door on my way out," she said. "And I have security on standby if you need them." Eve threw Clark a dirty look as she said that, but then turned and left, closing the door to the office as she went.

"Hey, Cat," Lois said sounding absolutely exhausted. "Good to see you, too, Short Stuff."

"It's good to see you too, Lois," Kara said.

"I wish the circumstances were better," Lois said, "but I'm hoping this will improve things."

"I admit I'm surprised Olsen isn't here," Cat said.

"I don't know where he is, other than my shit list," Lois replied. Clark looked uncomfortable enough at the statement that Cat had no doubt he knew exactly where Olsen was, but she wasn't going to push that issue. "I think Lucy might have put a hit out on him. God knows, all it would take would be one call to dad, and at least two wet work teams would be after him."

"She didn't," Kara said with a surprising amount of surety, "but I'm not entirely sure that isn't because she and Alex are planning to do the job themselves.

Lois smiled for the first time since she walked into the room. "That does sound more like my little sister," she said.

"I enjoy discussing the homicidal proclivities of everyone's siblings as much as the next person, but I had to push back a content meeting to fit the two of you in," Cat said.

"Right. This one's all you, Smallville," she said without looking at Clark.

Clark, who'd been more than a little slump shouldered and withdrawn straightened up and took a breath.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know that doesn't really cover it. What I said…" He stopped, and his eyes dropped. "I knew I shouldn't have said it the moment it came out of my mouth. I don't blame you for hitting me. I deserved it." He looked up at Kara. "I know what it must have cost you to do it, Kara. I know it was the right choice and I hated myself because I knew I couldn't have done it."

"I don't want you to think I'm making excuses for myself. What I did was inexcusable, and I'm having a hard time understanding why I got so angry when Jimmy told me what you'd done. I talked to…" he hesitated, his eyes shifted from Kara to Cat for a moment, before he looked back at Kara and continued. "To Wonder Woman about it. Well, after she finished yelling at me. I think I'd just been so fixated on Kandor for so long that I'd built up this idea in my head that if I could save Kandor, then Krypton wasn't really gone."

"When I got back from my trip with Green Lantern, Jimmy had left me a message. I called him, and he told me what happened. He said he was worried about you. That between the Red Kryptonite, what happened at Fort Rozz, and the way you fought Doomsday, he was worried your anger might make you cross a line. I had just intended to come check on you, see if you were okay, but when he told me you'd destroyed the compression device, I didn't wait for the rest of the details, I just lost it."

"I don't have any excuse, and I know I was wrong. I think it was just easier to be mad at you than admit I'd failed you again."

"Failed me? What do you mean?" Kara asked.

"That's all I've done since you got here," Clark said. "I abandoned you because I was afraid to try and take care of you. I couldn't give you Kandor back, I couldn't help you with Fort Rozz, I couldn't help with Myriad, I wasn't there when Astra died, I wasn't here when Doomsday showed up. You made a decision, and I know it was the right decision, but every time I think about it, I feel like a failure, because I should have been here to make that decision. Only, I know I couldn't have, and that makes me feel even worse. I wouldn't have done what you did, and people would have died fighting Doomsday. More than already had."

"I hate myself for knowing I'd trade lives just to keep the hope of Kandor alive. I hate that I can always find a solution when it's someone else on the line, but not when it's my own people. I think, as long as I had the compression device, I was able to convince myself that someday, I could make it right. I could save a part of Krypton, I could give you your home back, and I could make up for all the ways I let you down."

"You did the right thing, Kara. You did what I didn't have the strength to do. You chose the reality of National City, and Earth, over the hope for Kandor. And whatever I may have said in the heat of the moment, I need you to know that you were the hero this world needed that day. The one able to make the hard choice. / .non jolum .sokao:zhalishodh w khuhp/"

The room went quiet when Clark finished speaking, and Cat glanced over at Kara, unsurprised to find tears in her eyes. Kara held out her free hand, and Clark took it, and they sat like that for a moment before Kara turned to Cat.

"He said, 'I was wrong. Please forgive me,'" Kara said before turning back to Clark.

"/.:zhalishes rraop/" Kara said. "I forgive you." She took a deep breath, as if steadying herself. "But Kal-El, I need to say something. I want you to understand that you're my family, and I love you, no matter what. But this needs to be said, because I've been holding it in for thirteen years, and you need to hear me when I say it."

"Okay," Clark said. Cat felt herself tensing up, wondering how bad this was going to be.

"Your accent is terrible," Kara said. "It is literally the worst. You sound like a street vendor from southern Kryptonopolis and your parents would weep if they ever heard you speak Kryptonian."

Lois snorted loudly and reached up to cover her mouth before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Cat looked over at Kara, who was doing a very impressive job of not grinning, and was impressed, both at the timing, and the absolutely deadly delivery of the joke. Poor Clark looked like he didn't know what had just hit him at first, but even his lips turned up in a grin.

"Thank you for apologizing," Kara said. "But no more lone hero. El Mayarah, remember. We are stronger together. Give Alex and Winn all the data you have on Kandor and the compression device. Ask Hal, John, Kyle, Jessica and Simon to keep an eye out for more of Brainiac's probe ships. When they find one, we'll go together, we'll take Diana, Bruce, Alex, J'onn and the Lanterns, and we'll get another compression device. We have a *lot* of friends who are willing to help. You might not have been able to find a solution for Kandor, be *we* will."

"Okay," Clark said. "I like the sound of that."

"Good," Kara said. "Just, no Guy Gardner."

"She's got a good point," Lois said.

"Yeah," Clark said. "I'm not inclined to argue that one."

"Now, where's James?" Kara asked.

"He's in Hub City, visiting his mother."

Kara let out a sigh. "You need to talk to him, because I've tried, and I'm not getting anywhere. And given recent events," Kara lifted Cat's hand in her own, drawing attention to the fact that they were holding hands, "I don't see him being more willing to listen."

"We talked," Clark said. "After everyone else finished yelling at us, Jimmy and I sat down and had a long talk."

"Kal, his name is James," Kara said. "It's time you started using it."

"I-" Clark started to say.

"She's right," Lois said, cutting him off.

"I'm not sure I can fix things with James," Kara said. "I want to. He can be a good friend. But he needs to get it through his head that I'm not you in a skirt, or he needs to start looking for a new job. I'm not going to file a complaint. I wouldn't do that. But if I have to choose between him and Cat, he's going to lose. If he comes back and pulls his jealousy routine the way he did when Barry was here, I will not able to stop what happens to him. Honestly, I won't even try."

"Kara," Clark said, "he-"

"/ .pahskiles w :divi ,kahl,ehl,/" Kara said, cutting off whatever Clark was about to say. "/.:zhaoodh khuhp w zhehd .sem uvrreoshu khuhp w zhehd/"

Cat wasn't sure what Kara had just said to Clark. Some of the words sounded vaguely familiar, and Cat was sure the phrase about seeing light was in there, because the sentiment seemed so important to Kara when she said it. But whatever was said, it had an impact on both Clark and Lois, which vaguely annoyed Cat because it meant that Lois knew more Kryptonian than she did.

"What would you do if James tried to come between you and Lois?" Kara asked.

"Okay," Clark said. "I'll talk to him again."

Cat saw the worried look on Clark's face, and the tension and determination Kara's, and the way Clark was pointedly not looking anywhere other than Kara and it was clear what had happened. Kara had thrown down an ultimatum of some sort. One she couldn't, and more importantly, didn't want to back down from. And given the situation, Clark had to be sitting there wondering how much of the ultimatum came from Cat. She could feel Kara and Clark's relationship balanced on a knife's edge, and knew the wrong move would damage, if not destroy it. A quick glance over at Lois told Cat that she saw it too. Cat looked back at Kara and knew that she would no more let Kara throw away her relationship with Clark than she would let herself come between Kara and Alex, which meant that she had to bend.

"When you speak to James, tell him that I understand that I didn't give him a lot of time to consider his options. If he's not comfortable coming back given the change in circumstances, or if he comes back, and finds he's not comfortable, the buyout offer will stand until the end of his current contract," Cat said.

Kara turned to look at her, and as soon as Cat saw the look on Kara's face, she knew she'd done the right thing. She'd placed the ball squarely in James' court, giving him the chance to come back or stay away without risk to his livelihood. She could also see from the look on Clark and Lois' faces they both understood just how much she was willing to bend for Kara's sake.

"I'll pass it along," Clark said.

"I think it's getting close to time for us to go," Lois said. "After all, Cat's already had to push back a content meeting."

Cat turned to Kara. "If you want to take some time with your cousin, I'll have Eve email you the minutes."

Kara gave her that megawatt smile and leaned over to kiss her lightly on the corner of the mouth. "I'll take a few minutes, but I'll be back for the content meeting," she said.

"Okay," Cat said.

"Why don't you show Smallville this office I keep hearing about, Short Stuff?" Lois asked. "I need a minute with Cat."

Kara looked at Lois for a moment, then gave Cat a questioning look. Cat nodded, signaling that it was okay. Kara took the hint and stood up. "Come on," Kara said, and Clark followed, not even bothering to give Lois a look. Cat watched them go, then turned back to Lois as soon as the door was closed

"She loves you," Lois said.

"I hope so," Cat said.

"You love her?" Lois asked.

Had anyone else asked the question, Cat would have replied with something mean and snarky, but she could hear the worry in Lois' voice. Worry for her, as much as for Kara.

"Yes," she said. "With all my heart."

"It looks good on you," Lois said. "I'm happy for you, if that means anything."

"More than you realize," Cat said.

"Just… promise me one thing, Kitty?"

"If I can," Cat said.

"You're gonna get scared. Some nights, you're going to get so scared it's like you're dying. What they do, it's not easy to watch. Especially given how closely you and I watch things. When that happens, you call me. I might not be here to hold your hand, but I can talk you down from that ledge. And they are worth it. I promise it, they are."

Cat stood up, and reached out, pulling Lois into a hug as she rose.

"Thank you, Lois," Cat said.

"Hey," Lois replied, "what are ex-girlfriends for?"

Cat pulled back so she could see Lois' face. "Roasting at the White House Correspondents Dinner."

"Someday, you *will* pay for that," Lois said in a threatening tone, but there was a smile on her face. "Since when do you hug people, anyway?"

"Since I started dating a Kryptonian," Cat said.

"Funny," Lois said. "That's about the same time I started."

"Come on," Cat said. "We've got a few minutes, and I'm sure they're both eavesdropping from Kara's office."

"That's a sucker's bet," Lois said.


	15. I'm Going To Disneyland

Cat couldn't keep the smile off her face as they stepped through the gates onto Main Street. The enthusiasm for the day practically radiating off Carter and Kara was positively infectious.

"What should we do first?" Carter asked.

"Get ice cream!" Kara said immediately.

"It's eight o'clock in the morning," Carter said.

"Yes, and I've already had pancakes, so it's time for ice cream," Kara replied, like it was the most reasonable thing in the work. Which, given that she needed about ten thousand calories a day, it probably was. Fortunately, it was also a demand Cat had anticipated.

"I'm afraid you're out of luck, dear," Cat said. "The ice cream parlor doesn't open until 11:30."

"No!" Kara said, scandalized by Disneyland's lack of consideration.

"Oh, don't pout," Cat said.

"I'm not pouting," Kara huffed, with her bottom lip poked out in an adorable little pout.

"Of course not," Cat said, "But the puppy dog eyes are almost as bad, and completely unnecessary. there are two Churro Carts and a Bakery between us and Tomorrowland, and we can get you a frozen lemonade to tide you over once we get to Tomorrowland."

Kara's face lit up, Carter laughed, and Cat decided, just looking at them, that Disneyland might be her new favorite place on Earth, if she got to have moments like that.

hr

Cat settled into the seat of the 'submarine' with Carter on one side of her, and Kara on the other, and somehow it didn't even bother her that they were piling into a leaky tin can full of germs that ran around half submerged, just to look at fish. She stared out the small window in front of her, wondering vaguely if she remembered what a 'Nemo' was, and definitely not knowing why they wanted to find one, but not really caring much when she felt Kara's hand slip into hers, and their fingers intertwine. Kara leaned towards her to whisper in her ear.

"Stop pretending you aren't having a good time," she said, before kissing her cheek.

Cat turned to glare at her, but instead found herself smiling as she squeezed Kara's hand.

"I always have a good time when I'm with the two of you," she said, and groaned internally, because she sounded like a Hallmark card. The smile she got from Kara made it worth it. At least until the ride started, and both Kara and Carter became interested in the fish and the plastic cartoon characters floating outside.

hr

"I tried to warn you," Carter said.

"Oh, fine," Kara said, "be on her side."

"There's no side, my dear," Cat said in an exceedingly smug voice. "You lost that bet, fair and square."

"How, though?" Kara said as they walked away from Autotopia. "I've taken the FBI driving course!"

Cat snorted. "So have I," Cat said. "Twice."

"What?" Kara asked.

"She's also done the "Porche Driving Experience, BMW Performance School, and the Richard Petty Experience," Carter said, grinning.

Kara just glared at him. "You could have warned me," she muttered.

"He did," Cat said. "But if it will make you feel better about getting your ass kicked on the race track, it's eleven forty-five."

Kara's grumpy face immediately disappeared, replaced by one of sheer joy. "Ice cream?" she asked, with all the subtlety of a five-year-old.

"Ice Cream," Cat agreed, turning them towards Main Street.

hr

"I think she's in love," Carter said, watching Kara with wide eyes.

"Yes," Cat said. "I'm almost jealous."

Kara gave them both a not very convincing glare before going back to the mountain of ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, hot fudge, peanuts, sprinkles, whipped cream and cherries that she was currently devouring.

hr

"I still can't believe you wanted more Churro's after you had two Sundays," Carter said, amusement clear in his voice.

"I can't help it," Kara said, dipping another Churro in chocolate sauce. "My metabolism is insane."

Cat could see she was just a little embarrassed. Not enough to make her stop eating, but there was a little red in her cheeks, and she made a note to be careful about teasing Kara about food in the future, but for now, she slipped her arm around her girlfriend and leaned over, kissing her on the cheek.

"Eat whatever you want," Cat whispered in a tone so soft she knew only Kara would hear it. "We love you just the way you are."

Kara just beamed at her, and Cat made a mental note to have a pair of oversized refrigerators and the largest chest freezer she could find installed in all her homes.

hr

"Are you sure?" Kara asked.

"Of course," Cat said. "Go on." She made a little shooing motion with her hand from where she sat on the bench.

"Okay, okay," Kara said as she took Carter's hand, and they turned to head towards Space Mountain.

Cat watched them go with a smile on her face, grateful for the momentary break. So far, the day had been wonderful. Everything that she could imagine, and then some. It was just that Cat's emotions, good or bad, sometimes overwhelmed her. Letting Kara and Carter enjoy Space Mountain without her was a perfect excuse to take that time to relax and reset. Both of them knew she hated roller coasters, and even though Space Mountain was mild enough that it hardly counted as a roller coaster, she'd made good her escape. It didn't hurt that it gave her a chance to admire Kara as she walked away in that yellow dress she'd worn for the first time the day Barry Allen had shown up at CatCo.

"That's lovely to see," a woman said.

Cat gave a little start, and turned towards the sound of the voice, only to see an older woman standing next to the bench. "I'm sorry?" Cat said.

"The way your daughter is with your grandson," the woman said.

Cat felt the words hit her like ice water. She turned back to see that Kara had stopped and was looking back at her. She could see the desire to come back on Kara's face, but she shook her head, ever so slightly.

"Go ahead," Cat whispered.

Kara looked like she wanted to ignore what Cat said, but she just nodded, and went on towards the ride with Carter.

"She's not my daughter," Cat said, her tone firm. She looked back up at the woman. "She's my girlfriend, and that's my son. Not that it's any of your business."

"Oh!" the woman said, looking mortified. "I'm sorry."

"Clearly, if you have nothing better to do with yourself that comment on other people's family life. There is a time and place for that, but this isn't it. I suggest googling 'reality television' or 'soap opera'."

Cat pulled her phone out of her purse and unlocked it, ignoring the woman's attempts to apologize further as she fired off an email to her decorator about the necessary kitchen renovations.

hr 

Carter took the hand full of quarters Kara has given him and headed for the video games across the restaurant. Normally, that would worry Cat a bit, but with Kara watching, she knew that Carter was every bit as safe playing PacMan on the other side of the room as he was sitting at the table with them.

She also had a pretty good idea on why Kara has insisted they come to this particular restaurant, and it wasn't the quality of the food. Though she had to admit, the Green Miso Pesto Pasta had been surprisingly good.

She took and deep breath and let it out, a lot of the tension she was feeling melting away as she felt Kara's hand slip into her own.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kara asked gently.

"No," Cat said. "Which my therapist would point out is a sure sign that I should."

"No therapist here," Kara said. "Just people who love you."

"Even if I am old enough to be your mother?" Cat asked.

"You're not," Kara said. "Technically, I'm the older woman in this relationship. I've got you by about a month and a half. I was born September twenty-second, nineteen sixty-four."

Cat looked at her, reminded of the discussion they'd had after the Six Flags trip, and all the time Kara has spent alone, out in the dark of space. She squeezed Kara's hand tight, needing the physical reminder of Kara's presence.

"I still wonder sometimes if this is what's best for you," Cat said. "You have so much life ahead of you, Kara, and I don't want to cause you more pain. I think I could happily spend the rest of my life with you, but I have more years behind me than I do ahead. I know that, but I'm not sure you do."

Kara shifted slightly so her whole body was facing Cat. "Do you remember what I said on our first date, about what you give me that I've never had before."

Cat nodded. "You said I allow you the dignity of your choices."

"You do," Kara said. "Please, Cat. Allow me the dignity of this one." Kara lifted their hands and pressed a kiss to the back of Cat's. "Even if I'd arrived on time, had met you twenty-four years earlier than I did, even if this planet orbited a red sun, it wouldn't have mattered. The average Kryptonian life span is almost double that of a human's. With the effects of the yellow sun, it's not that Clark and I age more slowly, it's that we don't age at all."

Cat stared at Kara for a moment, as the full horror of what she was saying slowly sank in, and realized that however much she loved Kara, Cat would cheerfully murder Kara's mother for what she'd done to the girl.

Kara reached up, brushing a bit of hair back from Cat's face and leaned in. The kiss was slow and soft, a moment of comfort and closeness, rather than passion, and when it was over, Kara sat back and waited. Cat stared into her eyes and was surprised to find nothing but peace there.

"Do you want to know what I told Clark in your office, the other day? What I said to make him shut up and listen."

Cat just nodded.

"/ .pahskiles w :divi ,kahl,ehl, .:zhaoodh khuhp w zhehd .sem uvrreoshu khuhp w zhehd/" Kara said softly enough that no one but Cat could possibly have heard her. "She makes me see light, Kal-El. I love her. I want to marry her."

Cat let out a small gasp at hearing the words.

"I'm not proposing," Kara said. "Not yet. When I do that, I will probably make a complete idiot out of myself, babbling on like I always do. I just want you to understand that I'm here, with you, because I'd rather be here than anywhere else in the universe. You…" Kara closed her eyes and shook her head slightly.

"I keep saying 'You make me see light', and those are the right words, but the meaning doesn't translate." Kara opened her eyes and met Cat's gaze. "Father Rao is the source of light, the source of hope, of joy, of peace and kindness and love and all that is good. To see light is to look at the world, and experience joy in every small wonder which fills it. That is what you do for me, Cat. You make me look at the world, and see all the beauty and joy it in, even when the sharp edges cut me to the bone."

"If all I get with you is a hand full of years, then I will treasure every moment of them for as long as I live. And if you pass into the light before I do, I will take your memory and I will hold into it, and I will let it cut me until all the sharp edges are warn away, and all there is left is the happiness and the love that you make me feel."

Cat picked up a napkin off the table and used her free hand to dab unshed tears from her eyes.

"You know, for someone who isn't proposing, you're doing a pretty good job of making your case."

Kara laughed and leaned forward, kissing her again.


	16. Wonder

Notes: This Chapter is NSFW

* * *

Cat looked at herself in the mirror, not quite able to believe how nervous she felt. It wasn't like her and Kara's relationship so far had been chaste. Kara was both very physical, and very enthusiastic. But so far, it has ended each night with Kara going home before they'd gotten to carried away to stop. Neither of them had wanted to rush the other, or to rush things between them.

Tonight though, they'd be sharing a bed for the first time. After their talk that afternoon, Cat's lingering doubts, her expectation that this was going to come crashing down at any moment, had been rather firmly laid to rest. She had no doubt they'd be back. The nagging voice of doubt, which sounded exactly like her mother, was never silent for very long where personal matters were concerned. For tonight, however, she felt secure in the knowledge that she and Kara wanted the same thing. A life together, for as long as they could have it.

That didn't stop her from feeling as nervous as a virgin on prom night at the thought of joining Kara in the bedroom. She looked in the mirror and saw every wrinkle on her face and knew that her body was just as weathered. Stretch marks from carrying two children that refused to fade. The scar from the emergency C-section to deliver Carter when she went into labor almost two months early. A hand full of other, less clean scars from her days as a reporter. Things that had never bothered her before, but suddenly did because, for the first time since Lois, it actually mattered what someone thought.

She took a deep breath, telling herself she was being ridiculous. She had survived four marriages, given birth twice, built an empire from scratch with nothing but sheer determination. She'd laid Senators and Presidential Candidates and World Leaders low with a few words, and somehow, she'd won the heart of the most amazing Superhero the world had ever seen. She was Cat Fucking Grant, she was magnificent, and Kara loved her.

She took one list look in the mirror, adjusting the gold silk slip and matching robe she wore, then turned and opened the bathroom door. She didn't walk down the short hall to the bedroom, so much as she did strut, letting bravado carry her.

What she found in the bedroom made all the nerves worth it. Kara sat on the bed, glasses off, hair down, dressed in a royal blue slip that fell just to mid-thigh. Kara looked up at her and smiled, and it took her breath away.

"Hey," Kara said.

"Hey," Cat whispered.

Kara stood up and walked towards her, and Cat found herself trying to find words to describe what she felt in that moment, but the only one that came to mind was 'wonder'. That Kara existed at all was a miracle. That she was there, in that moment, taking Cat's hands, and backing them towards the bed filled Cat with an overwhelming sense of wonder that she got to live in this moment. That she got to slip her arms around Kara and pull her into a long, slow kiss, that she got to let her hands roam Kara's silk encased form.

When Kara broke the kiss, it felt a little like the end of the world. She opened her eyes, to find naked, wanton desire staring back at her from behind sapphire blue eyes, and couldn't tear herself away, even as Kara sad down on the edge of the bed.

Soft, immensely strong hands ghosted over the skin of Cat's legs, lifting the hem of her slip, up almost to her waist as they settled on the swell of her hip. She felt exposed, but absolutely safe as Kara's eyes dipped down to see what her hands had laid bare, and the soft moan that escaped Kara, even as she bit her lower lip made Cat feel powerful and desirable in a way she had once, long ago and only barely remembered.

Kara looked up at her as those same hands drew her forward, and she smiled as Kara carefully slipped her right leg between Cat's own. She could see what Kara had in mind, and approved whole heartedly, lowering herself onto a toned, muscled thigh, and moaning slightly when she felt herself make contact. She relaxed, letting own slight weight press her down onto silk soft skin and firm muscle, moaning as Kara's hands shifted, cupping her ass and pulling her forward until their bodies were pressed together.

"Take your robe off," Kara whispered as she leaned down, kissing the valley between Cat's breasts.

Cat let go of Kara only long enough to reach up and pull the robe off her shoulders, and let it fall down off her arms. She stared down at Kara, who was kissing the swell of her right breast, and decided there was still too much between them, so she reached down, grasping the hem of her slip, and pulled it up. Kara moved out of the way so Cat could lift the silk slip up, but closed her mouth around one of Cat's nipples before Cat could even get the slip off completely.

Cat tossed the slip aside and wrapped her arms around Kara, holding on tightly as Kara started moving, rocking and bouncing her leg slightly as she suckled Cat's breast. Cat's head fell back as she clung to Kara, her hips rolling in time with Kara's rocking, smearing her desire along Kara's thigh as heaven pressed in between her legs and at the center of her breast. Hands kneaded her ass, making her moan and she lost herself in the moment, wanting it to last forever, wanting Kara pressed against her, touching her, making her feel alive forever.

"I love you," she whispered, the words coming unbidden, escaping from her because she was too lost in Kara's touch to be on guard against them. For once, she wasn't afraid of them. She wanted to say them. She was proud to say them. This was Kara, and she loved her, because Kara was good and wonderful and wanted her love. There was no shame, no reservation in this. She loved Kara, she was with Kara, Kara was touching her, Kara's mouth was on her, Kara's tongue was tracing the hollow where her throat touched her collar bone.

She was lost, drowning in the moment, in Kara's touch, in the feel of Kara's skin, slick with Cat's own desire grinding against her. Breathing, even moving, was harder with each roll of her hips. Her lungs burned, like all the oxygen had gone out of the room. She was close, so very, very close. She opened her mouth, to say something, to scream, she wasn't sure, except that whatever it was got stuck there, choking her as her whole body locked up, as her fingers became claws digging into Kara's back as she fought for air, until the scream finally tore its way out of her throat and her whole body shook with her release.

"I love you," Kara whispered, over and over as Cat came. Kara let go of her ass and wrapped her in an iron embrace, holding her, letting her sink into the moment where all that mattered was how loved and cherished she felt.

When it was over, she lowered her head onto Kara's shoulders and held on to her, allowing herself to be held in return. She moaned softly as Kara reached up, gently petting her hair. It was a sublime moment. One which made her heart ache, but it was that very ache which brought it to an end, because she longed to share it with Kara in a more tangible way. To touch her in return.

She turned her head slightly, so she could press her lips to Kara's throat. She flicked her tongue out, and used her teeth, kissing and licking and biting at the skin as her hands drifted down, tugging at the hem of Kara's slip. She felt some resistance for a moment, but Kara shifted, and the resistance vanished, allowing her to lift Kara's slip. She had to sit back and break contact for a moment to lift the slip over Kara's head, but Kara helped, lifting her arms so Cat could strip her.

She took a moment then to look down, admiring the body she'd so far only seen in her dreams and fantasies, and it was every bit as magnificent as she had imagined. Seeing led to touching, to running her fingertips over washboard abs and cupping breasts in her hand. Touching led to tasting, to leaning down and covering one dark cinnamon colored nipple with her mouth and caressing the skin with her tongue. Tasting led to hearing, to a gasp and a moan. Hearing led to smelling, to sliding off Kara's legs and lowering herself between Kara's knees, inhaling her scent. Smelling lead back to touching, to running her hands along Kara's soft inner thighs and pushing them apart. Touching lead back to tasting, as she run hear tongue through Kara's folds, savoring every drop of Kara's desire that touched her tongue. Tasting led back to hearing, to listing to the moans and whimpers as she slipped a pair of fingers inside and started fucking Kara with a purpose. Hearing led back to seeing, to looking up at Kara's face as she filled her again and again, watching as Kara's chest rose and fell, as she squeezed her eyes shut and threw her head back. Seeing led back to touching, to fucking and licking and watching and smelling and tasting and hearing and to Kara screaming and coming and then coming again and again until she begged Cat to stop, only for Cat to make her come just one more time before she relented.

* * *

"I'm going to regret letting you keep me up this late when the alarm goes off," Cat said as she lay with her head resting on Kara's shoulder.

"Aren't you the one who always said anything more than four hours a night was just lazy," Kara replied.

"That was before I had a superhero girlfriend to wear me out," Cat replied.

"So, I did good?" Kara asked, and Cat almost wanted to laugh at the uncertainty in her voice.

"My dear, I'm not sure whether I should send whatever college girlfriend taught you all of that a thank you note or take out a hit on her in case she tries to steal you back."

Kara blushed, but she also had a smug smile on her face. "No college girlfriend," she said. "Just one of the advantages of not having to sleep. I think I've read every lesbian sex manual in the Kindle store."

"Well, something else to thank your super powers for. Though that thing you did with your fingers…"

"You liked that?" Kara asked.

"I'm thinking you'll save me a fortune on vibrators alone," Cat said.

Kara laughed, and leaned down, kissing Cat on her forehead. "Says the woman renting the most expensive suite in the hotel."

"I don't see you complaining," Cat said.

"I'd be happy at a Motel Six if you were there," Kara said.

"Then you'd never be happy at a Motel Six," Cat replied.

Kara laughed. "You can't let me be sappy, just for a moment?"

"Pizza Planet wasn't sappy enough for the whole weekend?" Cat asked.

"I was worried that might have been too sappy," Kara said.

Cat glanced up at her. "It was beautiful," she said.

"It wasn't too soon?" Kara asked.

Cat shook her head. "No. It helps, knowing we're on the same page about where this is going." Cat reached up and pushed a stray lock of hair out of Kara's face. "It does make it hard to be practical," she said.

"Cat, you are many things, and I love all of them, but practical isn't on the list," Kara said.

Cat glared up at her, but it wasn't very effective. If anything, it just seemed to make Kara smile wider.

"Is this how it's going to be?" Cat asked.

"I hope so," Kara said. "I feel like I could be happy if we just stayed right here forever."

Cat shook her head. "There you go, making it hard to be practical again."

Kara frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we've been together less than a week, and I'm already having the kitchens remodeled in the Penthouse, beach house and the Metropolis apartment to accommodate an extra fridge and a chest freezer, and I'm wondering what other changes I'm going to need to make so that you feel comfortable there."

"Cat, you don't-"

"I know you'll need an art studio," she said. "I've seen you come in with paint under your nails and in your cuticles often enough to know that. The terrace should be good for Supergirl entrances and exits. But I just don't know what else you need."

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" Kara said.

"I'm trying not to," Cat said. "Because it's too soon. Because we've been together a week and a half. Because I'm about to get into a custody battle with my ex-husband. Because I'm not sure your foster mother, who's only a year older than me, isn't going to kill me."

"She isn't." Kara said.

"What?" Cat asked.

"Eliza," Kara said. "She called me Sunday morning when it hit the news. We talked."

"Was she upset?" Cat asked.

"Concerned," Kara said. "Not about you. She was worried about the media attention and someone connecting me and Supergirl."

"You're trying to distract me," Cat said.

"From thinking up a list of reasons we can't be happy?" Kara asked. "Yes, I am."

"Thank you," Cat said.

"If it helps, I'd say yes," Kara said.

"You're not afraid," Cat asked.

"I'm terrified," Kara said. "I wake up every day, wondering what you could possibly see in me. Afraid today is the day you realize this is all some horrible mistake and want out. Afraid that someone will realize that I would let the rest of the world burn if it meant protecting you, Carter and Alex."

"I love you, Cat, but I'm terrified of the day you stop thinking of all the reasons you think I shouldn't want this and start thinking of all the reasons you should be running the other way."

Cat pulled herself up, so she was laying on top of Kara. "I'm not going anywhere," Cat said. "I love you."

"I know," Kara said. "I love you, too. I know I shouldn't, for so many reasons. My mother didn't send me to Earth to fall in love with a human, but it happened anyway, and if Rao has seen fit to bless me with your love than just this once, I'm going to be selfish. So, if you want me too, I'll move in with you. I'll pack my things as soon as we get back."

Cat leaned down and kissed Kara lightly, moaning when Kara deepened the kiss, but forcing herself to pull away before things escalated.

"When's your lease up?" Cat asked.

"I don't have one," Kara said. "Eliza's parents bought her the apartment when she started college. She sublet it until Alex went to college, but she owns in outright."

"How about this," Cat said. "We'll do a walkthrough of the penthouse and beach house next weekend and decide what renovations to make, and we'll move all your stuff once everything is ready."

"How long do you think that will take?" Kara asked.

"Why? You a little impatient?" Cat asked.

"Yes," Kara said. "I don't want to be away from you."

"Who said I was going to let you out of my sight," Cat said. "If you thought being my assistant was demanding, just you wait."

Kara laughed and kissed her again.

When the kiss was over, Cat smiled down at Kara. "Just because you aren't officially moved in, doesn't mean I don't already have your key and access card on order from building security. Whatever date we decide on is just a date for me to send movers to pick up your things. You are always welcome, you are always wanted, and you will always have a home with me."

Kara stared up at her for a moment, but Cat leaned down and kissed her, and this time, when things began to escalate, she didn't stop them.


	17. Almost, But Not Quite

Note: Just one more chapter after this.

* * *

Cat smiled as she read the text from Alex letting her know that she and Winn had finished installing the last few items at the Penthouse and were moving to the beach house. In the end, the renovations had been more extensive than Cat had originally planned, but the DEO's facilities team had done the work, and it had taken less time than she'd expected when Alex had come by with the blue prints two weeks earlier.

The Penthouse now included an armored panic room made of something called Nth Metal, which could supposedly stand up to an enraged Kryptonian. It also included a sun lamp room for Kara that doubled as a sauna, and Carter's room had been converted into a covert medical suite. The back wall was a false panel that could slide away to reveal all the equipment you'd need for a state of the art ICU suite. It terrified Cat, that they might need it, but at the same time, it reassured her that if Kara ever needed long term care, she could get it at home, and not in some DEO dungeon.

Carter had been relocated to the other side of the apartment, both to give Cat and Kara a bit of privacy, and to put him closure to the panic room. One of the panic room's two concealed entrances was in the back of Carter's walk-in closet. The other was behind a bookshelf in Cat's home office. That also allowed them to put Kara's studio against an exterior wall, giving her a floor to ceiling view of the National City skyline while she worked, as well as extra ventilation, but put it around the corner from the balcony so that she still had some privacy.

For all the changes, the only thing Cat had to give up was the bedroom she'd had decorated for her mother. It wasn't a huge sacrifice. After all, her mother had never set foot in it.

The beach house was getting an even more thorough reworking. Something Kara had tried to argue against. Cat knew Kara felt like all of this was a bit excessive, but Cat had simply ignored her and twisted a few arms to get the building permits rushed so the expansion of the foundation could be dug and poured while the DEO worked at the penthouse. The panic room in the beach house was larger and doubled as a sort of mini-command center for the DEO. Cat hoped it would never be used, but anything that would increase Kara's chances of coming home was a worthwhile investment as far as Cat was concerned.

She sat her phone down and reached for her computer, getting ready to tell Kara that they could arrange for the movers that weekend. Before she could do it though, a message popped up from Kara.

'Hey,' the message read.

'Hello,' Cat sent back, knowing something was wrong, because when Kara was excited, she always just jumped right into whatever she wanted to talk about, and when Kara was feeling flirty, the messages went to Cat's phone, because Winn and the DEO had made sure anything that went to Cat's phone wasn't going to end up on the front page of the Daily Planet, the way her emails had during Dirk's little takeover attempt.

'Do you have a minute?' Kara asked.

'For you, always,' Cat replied.

' :) Have I mentioned today that I love you?' Kara sent.

'Four times, not that I'm counting, but don't let that stop you from saying it again,' Cat sent.

'I love you,' Kara sent back.

'I love you, too. Now, tell me what's wrong, so I can fix it, or at the very least, crush the person responsible,' Cat sent.

'No crushing,' Kara replied. Another message followed a moment later. 'James just emailed me.'

Cat took a deep breath to steady her temper, before she did go down to the art department and crush someone.

'Should I be having HR prepare paperwork?' she asked.

Olsen has been the one sore spot since Cat and Kara had gotten back from the Disneyland trip three weeks earlier. Olsen had come back to work, and he'd been doing his usual level of somewhat above average work since then, but he'd been careful to avoid both Kara and Cat in anything other than strictly professional encounters. To Cat, that was an ideal situation, but she knew that it was weighing on Kara, and knew the situation was untenable, long term. Now, it looked like the other shoe was finally ready to drop.

'No. He sent the message to my personal email, from his personal email. I think he's trying to respect the boundaries we set,' Kara sent.

'I sense a 'but' coming,' Cat replied.

'He asked to talk to me outside of work,' Kara sent back.

Cat's hands clenched into fists, and she was half way out of her seat before she stopped herself and sat back down, typing out a reply.

'Did he say why?' Cat asked.

'He said he wanted to clear the air between us,' Kara replied.

'Is that something you want?' Cat asked.

'Yes. But I was hoping you'd come with me,' Kara sent.

'Are you sure?' Cat asked.

'Yes. He owes both of us an apology, and if he's not willing to give it, then there's no chance he and I will ever be friends again,' Kara replied.

'Okay. Did he have a place and time in mind?' Cat asked.

'Tonight. Six-thirty. Noonan's,' Kara sent back.

'I'll let Ella know we'll be late, and make sure she can stay with Carter until we get home,' Cat sent.

'I love you,' Kara replied.

'I love you too,' Cat sent.

* * *

Cat watched, an indulgent smile on her face as Kara finished her second brownie. There was a tiny, snarky little voice inside her that wondered when she'd gone so soft in the head that watching her girlfriend stress eat could melt her heart, but she just politely told that voice to fuck off. She was Cat Grant, and if she wanted to make sappy, love sick eyes are her girlfriend because she had a spot of hot fudge on the tip of her nose, she would do exactly that.

"What?" Kara asked.

Cat just picked up a napkin, and reached out, cleaning the fudge sauce off Kara's face, and laughing when Kara's cheeks turned bright red.

"Oh, I can't believe I did that," Kara said.

"I can't believe it's the only spot," Cat said. "I'm constantly amazed that you manage to eat as fast as you do and still have impeccable manners."

"Not with everything I eat," Kara replied.

It took a moment for it to sink in, because it was Kara saying it, but Cat felt her cheeks heat, even as a small surge of pride filled her.

Which is precisely when James drew their attention by clearing his throat.

Kara gave an adorable, surprised little yelp as she turned towards James, blushing like mad. Cat turned more slowly, drawing it out for effect, and raising an eyebrow, challenging James to say anything.

"Well, this is awkward," James said.

"For you," Cat replied.

Kara reached over and rested a hand on Cat's forearm. "Be nice," she said.

"How long have you known me?" Cat asked.

"Okay, fair point," Kara said. "But maybe try, a little bit."

Cat reached over and covered Kara's hand with her own. "Please, have a seat," she said to James, nodding to the chair opposite them.

"Thanks," James said, pulling the chair out and sitting down. He took a sip of his tea, and sat the cup down on the table, obviously uncomfortable. "Can I get either of you anything?"

Cat turned and gave Kara a questioning look, and Kara shook her head. "We're fine," Cat said as she turned back to James.

"Okay," James said. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, visibly trying to calm himself before he started speaking. "I'm not sure where to start," he said.

"You can start by apologizing for the way you've treated Cat," Kara said, and Cat found herself taken off guard, because Kara said it in her Supergirl tone. Firm, commanding, resolute, and unreasonably hot. "Because if your not here to apologize to both of us, this is a waste of time."

"I am," James said. "I wasn't sure if you were going to bring her with you, but if you hadn't, I would have talked to her as soon as I could. It's just, when you've screwed up as badly as I have, it's hard to know what to apologize for first."

"I decided to leave Metropolis because I needed to get out of Superman's shadow. Back there, I wasn't James Olsen, I was Superman's friend. I won Pulitzers. I was one of the highest paid photo journalists in the world. I stood in the middle of the city when it turned into a war zone and documented it all. But I was still just this appendage of Clark. I lived and worked in his shadow. I dated his girlfriend's younger sister. I wasn't my own person anymore. I thought getting away from that was what I needed."

"Turns out, I was right. I just chickened out at the last minute. I let Clark talk me into coming here to keep an eye on Kara, and I ended up making all the same mistakes. I attached myself to Kara, I got more and more involved in everything going on with Supergirl, and I forgot to be my own person, but I forgot to let Kara be her own person, too."

"Clark had been the hero and the leader for so long, I'd started measuring everything against him. So, whenever you tried to do something he couldn't do, I just assumed you'd fail. And then, you did it. You proved me wrong. But I forgot to move the needle, so the next time something came along that I knew he'd have a hard time with, I expected you to have an even harder time. When you made decisions I know he'd never make, in my mind, they had to be wrong. I just couldn't get past this huge blind spot."

"Then the Red K happened, and I got scared. I've seen the kind of damage a Kryptonian can do. I saw it with Zod. I saw it with Doomsday. Clark's always been safe, because I know Clark, and he just doesn't have that kind of anger in him. I think I've always thought that's what makes him a hero, that he just doesn't have that. It never occurred to me that you're more of a hero, because you feel that, and still do all the things you do."

James turned towards Cat. "That's around the same time things got messed up with us, too. When I realized how you felt about Kara, it made me angry, and the closer you two got to each other, the more I resented it. I think half the reason I got so angry over the whole Doomsday thing was finding out she'd told you she was Supergirl."

"I spent the two weeks I was gone trying to get my head on right. Trying to figure out why I was so angry at everything. Why… Why I keep burning down everything I touch. It took my mom to finally slap some sense into me. She made me realize that…" James stopped and reached up, scrubbing his face with his hands, and Cat could see that whatever he was about to say, he'd changed his mind. "She made me realize I was jealous of Lois. That Clark had been my best friend, and I was the one who was in on the secret, and Lois just walked in and took all that away from me. That Lucy was right, and things didn't work between us because I never made her a priority. That I came to National City, and I fell into the same pattern. The more people Kara told, the angrier I got. I resented Cat because it was like Lois all over again, only this time, I had more to lose."

"As soon as I left that day, I thought I'd made a mistake. I thought I should have just taken the buyout offer. When Clark told me it was still on the table, I decided to take it. I even started looking around for another job."

"You're leaving?" Kara asked.

"No," James said. "I mean, not unless you want me to."

"I don't," Kara said. "I just want you to be my friend again."

James nodded. "I'd like that," he said. "But it might take me some time."

"What made you decide to stay?" Cat asked.

"Lucy," James said. "We're not getting back together or anything. She told me in no uncertain terms that she was 'done with my bullshit'. But she said that if I stayed in National City, she'd set me up with one of the DEO's mental health people. It's a hard offer to pass up, because I've got a lot of stuff to work through, and I can't even talk to a therapist about most of it, because I'd be giving up Clark and Kara's secrets. But the therapists at the DEO are already cleared on all of it, so I can get better help there. Maybe stop fucking up my life."

"I think that's a really good idea," Kara said.

"If you need time," Cat said, "CatCo's FLMA policy is generous."

"I think I'd like to keep working, if that's alright," James said. "I know the last couple of weeks haven't been the most comfortable. If not, I could probably find work in town, assuming my National City Privileges don't get revoked."

Cat stared at him for a minute and did her best not to let her temper rise to the challenge in James's tone, but it was a near thing. "Not yet, Mr. Olsen," she said. She looked over at Kara, who was looking at her. As much as she wanted to tell Olsen to pack his bags, she could see from the look in Kara's eyes that Kara wanted him to stay, so she gave a small nod.

"Stay," Kara said, turning back to James. "I'd like to try and see if we can be friends again."

"Okay," James said, before he turned to Cat. "And you're okay with that?"

"As long as there's respect, I can live with it," Cat said. "Respect for Kara, as a person and not as an extension of her cousin. Respect for our relationship. Respect for the rules I set during out last meeting."

"I think I can live with that," James said. "I think I need to just focus on myself right now."

He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for something. "I'm sorry," he said. "For the way I've treated both of you. I know that's not much, but I promise I'll do better."

"Thank you for trying," Kara said. "That means a lot to me."

* * *

"It's not going to work, is it?" Kara asked.

Cat turned to look at her. They were in the back of the town car, riding back to the penthouse. Kara was staring out the driver's side window, and Cat couldn't quite see the look on her face, but there wasn't really any doubt what she was talking about.

"No," Cat said. "I don't think so."

"Do you know why?" Kara asked. "I can feel it in my gut, but I can't pin down why I know it. At first, I thought it was the way he challenged you there are the end, but the more I think about it, the more I realized I already knew."

"He's still letting other people set his course for him," Cat said. "He let Lucy talk him into staying when he'd already made up his mind to leave. He doesn't know what he wants, or if he does, he isn't ready to admit it to himself, and he won't ever be happy until he figures those things out."

Kara let out a sigh. "I hate losing people," she said.

"You might not," Cat said. She reached out and took Kara's hand. "He's trying, and it's possible that the therapists at the DEO will get through to him before he completely self-destructs."

"But you don't think so," Kara said.

"No," Cat said. "I think he's going to have to hit rock bottom before he's really willing to change."

Kara turned to look at her. "I wish I could help him."

"You can't," Cat said. "You can't help him any more than I could be the one to help Lois when she hit rock bottom. Who you are and what you represent are part of the problem. It would be like trying to help an alcoholic by giving them the key to your liquor cabinet. The best thing you can do for him is keep him as far away from Supergirl as possible. Be his friend as Kara, but that's it. He has to learn how to define who he is without it being in relation to you or Clark."

"And if he does hit rock bottom?" Kara said.

"Then we'll see," Cat said. "Kara, love, you need to prepare yourself for the possibility that you might not be able to be the one to help him up."

"I know," Kara said. "I hate it, but I know."

"I promise you, if I can help him when he gets there, I will," Cat said.

Kara smiled at her. "Have I told you today that I love you?" she asked.

"A time or two," Cat said, "but I never get tired of hearing it."

"I love you," Kara said.

"I love you too," Cat said before leaning forward to kiss Kara.


	18. Forever

Author's Note: This chapter brings the story to what I hope is a satisfying conclusion. I never imagined, when I started writing this that it would turn into a novella, but here we are some 40,000+ words later. I want to thank everyone who's stuck around for the ride. I hope you think it's worth it, and I appreciate every comment I've gotten along the way.

For those who are interested in the Kryptonian used in the story, there is a full translation guide at the end of this chapter. The language is Doyle Kryptonian (the language being used on the show). You can find a reference for it at which also has information on other versions of the language. The "You make me see light" idiom is entirely my own, though it didn't originate in this story.

* * *

Chapter Text

(One Year Later)

"Cat."

Cat looked up from the layouts she was working on to see Alex standing in the doorway of her office, with a slightly nervous Eve standing behind her. She immediately dropped the layouts on her desk and stood up.

"Close the door please, Eve," Cat said as she waved Alex into the office.

"Of course, Ms. Grant," Eve said, pulling the glass door too.

"Where's Kara?" Cat asked as she sat down on one of the sofas.

Alex dropped down on the other sofa. "I convinced her that she should take Maggie shopping with her for your present."

"How did you do that?" Cat asked.

"I just said something about Maggie having the most experience in buying girlfriends anniversary presents, and let Kara's panic do the rest," Alex said, grinning.

"No, I meant, how did you convince Maggie to go shopping?"

"That's more details about my sex life than you really need," Alex said.

Cat laughed and shook her head. "You know the curiosity is going to kill me."

"Well, you've got what, six more lives at this point?" Alex said.

Cat rolled her eyes. "Careful, Agent Danvers. Any more Cat puns, and I'll be sure to let Maggie know you're the reason she has to pull a double shift the night of the Bare Naked Ladies concert she's been looking forward too for months."

Alex's eyes got as big as dinner plates, and she held up her hands in submission. "Truce?" she begged.

"Only if you have it," Cat said.

Alex smiled as she reached into her pocket, pulled out a small ring box and opened it.

"Oh," Cat said. "It's beautiful."

"A perfect copy of the piece you had sent over," Alex said. "We replaced the gems with Sunstones, and the ring is made of an alloy of depleted promethium, titanium and vanadium, which is strong enough that she could beat on this for hours, and not make a dent."

"Hopefully we won't have to test that," Cat said.

"Hopefully." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a second box. "I made a small addition," she said as she held out the second box.

Cat took it and opened it. "A locket?" she asked.

"Made of the same material," Alex said. "Open it."

Cat picked up the locket and opened it. One side was a polished mirror, but the other side had some kind of three-pronged clamp. It took her just a moment to realize what the clamp was for. She picked up the engagement ring and slotted it into place.

"El Mayarah," Alex said.

Cat watched in wonder as an image of her, Kara, and Carter appeared in the surface of the mirror.

"This is beautiful," Cat said.

"I thought that Kara would want to keep the ring with her, even when she's Supergirl, and this way, she can."

"Thank you," Cat said.

"You should also thank Winn." Alex said. "He got the voice recognition lock and the holoprojector working."

"I'll keep that in mind," Cat said. "How is Winn doing these days?"

"Pretty good," Alex said. "I think Kara's finally forgiven him and James for the whole Guardian/Mr. Terrific thing now that James and Curtis are actually official DEO agents. She might even start speaking to them again someday."

Cat smiled and shook her head. True to her prediction, things with James hadn't worked out. If she was being honest, she wasn't sure how much of that was Curtis, and how much of that was James. She'd hired Curtis to replace Winn, and because she felt a stab of sympathy for the man who was still trying to put his life back together after his husband had died in the Glades Earthquake in Starling City. When Guardian and Mr. Terrific had appeared a few weeks later, connecting the dots hadn't been that hard.

Kara, on the hadn't taken it well at all. Especially when James and Curtis had jumped onboard the 'Lena is evil' train when Lillian had framed her for helping Metallo escape. When things threatened to boil over in the office, Cat had called James into her office, and encouraged him to take the buyout package, and he'd had the good sense to agree.

Cat was pretty sure J'onn had brought them on as DEO agents because fighting or not, he knew Kara would be devastated if James got killed while playing superhero while dressed up like rejects from some CW action show.

"Are they still wearing those ridiculous suits?" Cat asked.

"Oh, it's worse than that. Once J'onn got a good look at it, he had Winn make Guardian style suits for all of us. He did make Curtis get rid of that ridiculous mask though."

"When did Kara find out about that?" Cat asked.

"About two weeks ago," Alex said.

"Well, that would explain this month's ice cream bill," Cat said. It would also explain one of the more athletic nights they'd had recently, because angry Kara almost always equaled horny Kara. A fact which meant that on the infrequent occasions when they did fight, the makeup sex was fantastic.

Alex laughed, blissfully unaware of what Cat was thinking. "Consider yourself lucky. I spent two nights on the couch because Maggie didn't get to arrest their dumb asses after we found out who they were."

Cat shook her head. "I'd have made you stay there a week, at least."

"What can I say? I'm irresistible," Alex said.

"And apparently bullet proof in your new suit," Cat said.

"The armor *is* nice, but I'm more excited about the T-Spheres."

"T-Spheres?" Cat asked.

"Yeah. Curtis came up with them back when he and James were still running around as Guardian and Mr. Terrific. There's little drones about the size of a baseball. All kinds of built in tech, including a taser, and a small explosive charge."

"Well, if it gets you excited, it was either going to explode or have dimples," Cat said.

"Hey, I like guns, too!" Alex said.

"And motorcycles," Cat replied.

"Says the woman with six," Alex shot back.

Cat shrugged. "Your sister likes me in leather."

Alex closed her eyes and scrunched up her face. "To much information," she whined.

"Oh, please. I would have thought after a year with Maggie, you'd have figured out that Kara and I do more than braid each other's hair."

"I try not to think about it," Alex said. She opened her eyes and held out her hand, taking the ring back from Cat and returning it to the box. "You going to ask her at the anniversary dinner?"

"No," Cat said. "I've always thought public proposals were vaguely creepy."

"You know, I hadn't even thought of that," Alex said.

"Why? Are you thinking of proposing?" Cat asked. "Because if you have some tacky double wedding in mind-"

"Yes to the proposing," Alex said. "No to the double wedding. Honestly, I was going to wait until you and Kara were married to pop the question, but I accidently caught Maggie ring shopping online, and I kind of want to be the one who asks."

"Do you have a ring picked out?"

"No," Alex said a little hopelessly. "I mean, this is Maggie, so she'd probably love the kind that comes attached to a grenade, but I was hoping for something a little more classy. The thing is, I probably know more about how to run a multibillion dollar media conglomerate than I do about picking out jewelry. I thought about asking the jeweler who sent over the models for your and Kara's rings, but somehow, I doubt they're in my price range."

"Would you be offended if I offered to get you a discount?" Cat asked.

"Are you kidding?' Alex asked. "I'm a government employee. Making unreasonable demands for a discount is chapter one in the training manual."

Cat laughed at that. "Let me make a couple of calls," she said. "I own two fashion magazines and the bestselling bridal magazine on the market. I'm pretty sure I can swing a discount from a jeweler or five." She leaned forward, reaching across the coffee table and catching Alex's hand in her own, squeezing it tightly. "And Alex…"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," Cat said. "For helping with the ring, for accepting me into your family… For everything."

"Hey, it's not every day I get to celebrate the anniversary of Clark Kent getting that smug look slapped off his stupid face," Alex said, grinning. She gave Cat's hand a squeeze in return. "Seriously, Cat, you're family," Alex said. "It might have taken us a little longer to find you and Carter, that doesn't mean we love you any less."

Cat gave Alex a mock glare. "If you make me cry in front of my minions, I'm not letting you have Australia when we take over the world."

"I keep telling you to install curtains," Alex said.

"I'm starting to think that would be a good idea," Cat said.

"Why haven't you?" Alex asked.

"I hate feeding the rumor mill," Cat said. "They already assume I'm violating your sister every time we step out onto the balcony."

"And for my own sanity, I'm going to leave before you tell me those rumors aren't completely false," Alex said.

"Of course they are," Cat said. "That's what Kara's office is for."

Cat smiled. Alex's shriek of horror was worth whatever the rumor she'd just started.

* * *

Cat stood on the balcony outside of her office, admiring her handiwork. The bouquet of chocolate dipped strawberries and heart shaped pineapple pieces from edible arrangements was set neatly in place. A bottle of Kara's favorite Sparkling Blackberry Wine was breathing on one corner of her desk.

All that was missing was a certain Kryptonian, but that was easy to solve. She picked up her phone and sent Kara a text, asking Kara to come see her. She waited a second for Kara to say she was on her way before muting the phone and slipping it into her pocket.

Cat took a deep breath to steady her nerves as she double checked that the ring was in her pocket. She's been through this four times before, but she'd always been on the receiving end of the proposal. This was the first time she'd ever been the one asking, and it was a lot more nerve wracking.

Nerve wracking was a good description for the entire year. The nasty custody battle with Carter's dad. The entire fight with Cadmus. Finding out Jeremiah Danvers had been cooperating with them as a way to ensure his family's safety. Leslie getting a pardon in exchange for helping take down Hank Henshaw. Kara and James' friendship imploding when she found out James and his boyfriend were Guardian and Mr. Terrific. Morgan Edge and Intergang, and now the World Killers.

So much trouble. So much danger. Kara's near miss during her fight with Reign was enough to make Cat realize that waiting any longer was stupid. A year ago, she'd been worried about Kara outliving her. Three weeks ago, she'd been worried about outliving Kara.

She turned around at the sound of the door opening and smiled as Kara stepped out onto the balcony.

"Hey," Kara said, a smile spreading across her face. "What's all this?"

"You didn't think I was going to let our anniversary slip past without celebrating, did you?" Cat asked.

"But that's tomorrow," Kara said, coming into the room.

"Tomorrow is the anniversary of your first kiss," Cat said, standing up. She reached out and took Kara's hands in hers. "Today is the anniversary of the first time you told me you loved me. Even if I didn't understand what you were saying at the time."

Kara's cheeks turned bright red as she gave an awkward little shrug. "I was terrified," she said. "I mean, I'd just found out that my crush liked me back."

"You didn't seem terrified when you tried to kiss me," Cat said.

"Yeah," Kara said as she slipped her arms around Cat and pulled them together. "That's all Supergirl. You get scared, you do something immediately, so you don't have time to freeze."

Cat leaned into the kiss that followed Kara's words, squeezing her tightly as she opened her mouth and moaning as she felt Kara's tongue slip between her lips. Kissing Kara had been wonderful from the first time, but after a year's worth of practice, Kara knew just how to make her knees go week, and without really intending too, Cat lost herself in the kiss. For long, endless moments her entire world were lips and tongues and hands and arms and the absolute comfort of safety and home she felt whenever Kara held her.

She finally broke the kiss because she knew if she didn't, she was going to be in danger of breaking their 'no sex on the balcony' rule. Again. She took a moment to center herself before she looked up, only to meet Kara's eyes and have her breath taken away all over again by the way Kara was looking at her.

"/ .zhao w rrip/" Cat whispered.

"/ .zhao vahdhah w rrip/" Kara replied softly.

They exchanged the same words, 'I love you' and 'I love you too', in English often enough, but there was something about the / kryptahniuo/ words spoken softly between them, only ever uttered in private felt more real to Cat. They'd spent long, quiet nights curled up together, with Kara teaching her the language. Sometimes Carter had joined them. Sometimes, Alura's holograph had been with them through the video conferencing system Cat had installed in the den just for that purpose. It had been a long process, and hard work, but the look on Kara's face every time Cat spoke to her in her native language was worth every moment of it.

This time, the exchange earned her another kiss. This one was soft and quick, though not what anyone would call chaste.

"You know we don't need some date on the Calendar to have a special night," Kara said.

"Every night with you is special, /i zhor/," Cat said.

Kara grinned at her. "I love it when you call me that," she said.

"It's true," she said. "You're my heart. You and Carter."

"/ .nahn rrip w khap i zahdh/" Kara said, and Cat translated the words almost instantly. 'You are my home.'

"For as long as you want me to be," Cat said.

"/ .uldif/" Kara said, and Cat smiled a little at the simple word, and the meaning behind it. Forever.

"Careful there," Cat said. "I might take you up on that."

"Please do," Kara said, kissing Cat lightly again.

"I think I will," Cat said, feeling it. This was the moment. She stepped back, smiling as she saw a slightly puzzled look on Kara's face. A look which changed to shock as Cat knelt down. She slipped her hand into her pocked, and pulled out the small, lead lined velvet bag, and turned it over, letting the ring Alex had delivered fall into her hand, then tucked the bag back into her pocket before reaching out and taking Kara's left hand in her own as she held up the engagement ring.

"/ .nahn rrip w khap i zhor , eh ,kahrah,zor,ehl, .pahskilahres w khap ni :divi .:zhao w rrip .:zhao zhindif w rrip .ta uvrreoshu w khap/" she said. Words she's spent hours translating and rehearsing, to make sure she got them right. Got them perfect. 'You are my heart, Kara Zor-El. You make me see light. I love you. I will always love you. Will you marry me?' The translation echoing in her head.

Kara nodded, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "/!zhi/" she said. /!uvrreoshu veun w rrip/" 'Yes! Of course I'll marry you.'

Cat slipped the ring onto Kara's hand, and smiled for a moment at the beauty of it. A platinum colored band set with three round cut stones. A diamond in the center, with a deep blue sapphire on either side.

Kara pulled Cat to her feet, and Cat didn't waste any time. She stepped into Kara's arms and kissed her soundly as she imagined their future and hoped for forever.

The End.

* * *

Translated from the Kryptonian:

From Chapter 8

.zhindahzh khuhp w voiehd im ;zuhne non w udolkhehdia gahv shahrrehth im  
Literal: _I dreamed of this but was afraid of allowing hope._  
Semantic: _I dreamed of this, but I was afraid to let myself hope for it._

.:zhao w rraop  
 _I love you (romantically)._

.:zhaoes zhindif w rraop  
 _I have always loved you (romantically)._

From Chapter 10

.sozhaoowahshes  
 _Please don't cry._

.nahn w khap i zhor  
 _You are my heart._

:zhao w rraop  
 _I love you (romantically)._

:zhaoes zhindif w rraop  
 _I have always loved you (romantically)._

.pahskiles rrip w khap ni :divi  
Literal: _You show me light._  
Semantic: _Does not translate. In story, Kara translates this as 'You make me see light', which is the closest semantic translation possible, but lacks the cultural context to truly give it meaning. Kryptonians believe that Rao is the source of light, the source of hope, of joy, of peace and kindness and love and all that is good. 'To see light' is a metaphore for looking at the world and experiencing joy in the small wonders that fill it. To say that someone 'makes you see light' means that their presence makes your life better, and imspires you to find joy in living in the world and to take the time see all the beauty it in._

.zhindahzh khuhp w voiehd im ;zuhne non w udolkhehdia gahv shahrrehth im  
Literal: _I dreamed of this but was afraid of allowing hope._  
Semantic: _I dreamed of this, but I was afraid to let myself hope for it._

Chapter 14

.non jolum  
 _I was wrong._

.sokao:zhalishodh w khuhp  
 _Please forgive me._

.:zhalishes rraop  
 _I forgive you._

.pahskiles w :divi ,kahl,ehl,  
Literal: _(She) shows light (to me)_  
Semantic: _Does not translate. Kara would translates this as 'She make me see light', which is the closest semantic translation possible, but lacks the cultural context to truly give it meaning. Kryptonians believe that Rao is the source of light, the source of hope, of joy, of peace and kindness and love and all that is good. 'To see light' is a metaphore for looking at the world and experiencing joy in the small wonders that fill it. To say that someone 'makes you see light' means that their presence makes your life better, and imspires you to find joy in living in the world and to take the time see all the beauty it in._

.:zhaoodh khuhp w zhehd  
 _I love her._

.sem uvrreoshu khuhp w zhehd  
 _I want to marry her._

Chapter 15

.pahskiles w :divi ,kahl,ehl,  
Literal: _(She) shows light (to me)_  
Semantic: _Does not translate. Kara would translates this as 'She make me see light', which is the closest semantic translation possible, but lacks the cultural context to truly give it meaning. Kryptonians believe that Rao is the source of light, the source of hope, of joy, of peace and kindness and love and all that is good. 'To see light' is a metaphore for looking at the world and experiencing joy in the small wonders that fill it. To say that someone 'makes you see light' means that their presence makes your life better, and imspires you to find joy in living in the world and to take the time see all the beauty it in._

.:zhaoodh khuhp w zhehd  
 _I love her._

.sem uvrreoshu khuhp w zhehd  
 _I want to marry her._

Chapter 18

.zhao w rrip  
 _I love you._

.zhao vahdhah w rrip  
 _I love you too._

kryptahniuo  
 _Kryptonian (language)_

i zhor  
 _My Heart_

.nahn rrip w khap i zahdh  
 _You are my home._

.uldif  
 _Forever._

.nahn rrip w khap i zhor , eh ,kahrah,zor,ehl,  
 _You are my heart, Kara Zor-El._

.pahskilahres w khap ni :divi  
 _You make me see light._

.:zhao w rrip  
 _I love you._

.:zhao zhindif w rrip  
 _I will always love you._

.ta uvrreoshu w khap  
 _Will you marry me?_

!zhi  
 _Yes!_

!uvrreoshu veun w rrip  
 _Of course I'll marry you!_


End file.
